architecture

Müggelturm – East Berlin, Germany

Clean-cut and chic, the Müggelturm is one of the first examples of Modernist architecture in East Berlin after years of ruling Stalinist Classicism in GDR.

Almost 30 meters high, the tower overlooks the Müggelsee and the surrounding woods from a hillock.

Opened to the public on the 31st of December of 1961 – just a few months after the construction of the infamous Wall – the building was designed by the collective of students of Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee led by architects Jörg Streitparth, Siegfried Wagner and Klaus Weißhaupt.

The façades display panoramic windows at every landing, together with stylish clear concrete geometrical shapes.

A twin tower is planned to be built soon next to the original one.

Müggelturm Fujifilm instax mini monochrome / Leica Sofort
Concrete façade Polaroid Color 600 Metallic Red Frame Edition / Polaroid Supercolor 670AF
The staircase Fujifilm instax mini monochrome / Leica Sofort
Müggelturm Polaroid Color 600 Metallic Red Frame Edition / Polaroid Supercolor 670AF
Müggelturm Fujifilm instax mini monochrome / Leica Sofort

Jiřího z Poděbrad metro station – Prague, Czech Republic

Named after the square above – and initially in fact called Jiřího náměstí – the underground station Jiřího z Poděbrad in Vinohrady, between Praha 2 and Praha 3 districts, serves the Žižkov Television Tower neighborhood.

Opened on 19th of December 1980 as part of the second section of metro line A, it was designed by architect Anna Hübschmannová for DP-Metroprojekt.

The vestibule and the pillars are tiled with marble, while the floors are paved in granite.
The tunnel is covered in fine anodized aluminium plates in a tasteful and stylish match of elegant peacock blue and shiny golden yellow.

The original escalator still carries passengers up and down the depth of 45 metres.

Jiřího z Poděbrad – Escalator down Fujifilm instax mini black / Leica Sofort
Jiřího z Poděbrad – Tunnel Fujifilm instax mini black / Leica Sofort
Jiřího z Poděbrad – Escalator up Fujifilm instax mini black / Leica Sofort

Hotel Cosmos – Chișinău, Moldova

Slightly crumbly and vaguely ill-kept, the charming Cosmos has surely seen better days.

The state-owned hotel, planned by architects B. Banykin and Irina Kolbayeva, was constructed between 1974 and 1983 during the massive urban redevelopment of the capital following war and earthquake devastation.

In its golden years it was one of the largest and most modern accomodations in Moldavian SSR. Under the blazing starbursts and the neon capital letters on the top floor, swinging angled-shaped balconies form a dynamic concrete pattern overlooking Negruzzi square and Kotovsky equestrian statue.

Although not working anymore on its full capacity, the Cosmos hotel and its former glamour still twinkle like a Soviet modernist gem among post-war architecture in Chișinău.

Hotel Cosmos - Chișinău, Moldova Polaroid Color 600 Film / Polaroid Supercolor 670AF

Sukhumi Railway Station, Abkhazia

On the picturesque Black Sea coast of Abkhazia, Sukhumi train station was planned in 1938 to connect the Transcaucasus Railway to Adler.

The present, severe building was opened on December 1, 1951 and designed by architects Levan and Lola Mushkudiani in the USSR fashion du jour, the monumental Stalinist Empire style.

The décor was rather luxurious at the time: all façades were lined with granite and marble, windows and cash registers were made out of chestnut and genuine parquet covered the floor of the restaurant.
The star-crowned station was built to host 500 to 1000 passengers at once.

The edifices were then damaged during the Abkhaz-Georgian war and used as ammunition depot. They became fully operational again only in 2004.

Currently, the main building is under renovation and the station serves only a few trains running from and towards Russia.

Sukhumi Train Station Impossible Yellow Duochrome Third Man Records Edition / Polaroid 636 Closeup

The Olympic Misha in Osh, Kyrgyzstan

Oldest city of the country, Osh is regarded as the southern capital of Kyrgyzstan.
As a result of the 1970s industrialization, lots of concrete-paneled apartment buildings were built; they couldn’t be taller than 5 storeys due to the high seismicity level of the area.

At that time in the USSR many side façades used to get decorated with the most popular Soviet themes – from the timeless “Slava Trudu” to traditional folk motifs.

One of the best known still exists in Osh: right next to a likewise enormous Aeroflot mosaic commercial, Misha the Olympic bear proudly smiles from the wall of a khrushchyovka.

Hidden among dusty streets, the über cute jumbo-sized mascotte was allegedly assembled during the late Seventies, when the rising games fever led to embellish every spot (fences, living room, even wells) of the whole Soviet Union with the symbols of Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics.

Mishka the Olympic bear Fujifilm instax mini / Leica Sofort