Panelák
Encyclopedia
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
and Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
for a panel building
Panel building
Panel building may refer to buildings of one of the following types:*Built of structural insulated panels*Built of pre-fabricated concrete blocks, named differently in various countries....
constructed of pre-fabricated, pre-stressed concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
, such as those extant in Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and elsewhere in the former Soviet bloc. [plural: ] is derived from the standard or meaning, literally, "panel house / prefabricated-sections house
Panel building
Panel building may refer to buildings of one of the following types:*Built of structural insulated panels*Built of pre-fabricated concrete blocks, named differently in various countries....
." The term "panelák" is used mainly for the elongate blocks with more sections with separate entrances – simple panel tower block
Tower block
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, office tower, apartment block, or block of flats, is a tall building or structure used as a residential and/or office building...
s are called "věžový dům" (tower house) or "věžák". The buildings remain a towering, highly visible reminder of the Communist era.
According to census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
statistics, around one in three Czechs still live in a . Similar buildings were built in all communist countries, from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
to Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. There were also attempts to introduce similar structures as public housing in the United States
Public housing in the United States
Public housing in the United States has been administered by federal, state and local agencies to provide subsidized assistance for low-income and people living in poverty. Now increasingly provided in a variety of settings and formats, originally public housing in the U.S...
(see Pruitt–Igoe and Cabrini–Green), but almost all ended in failure – sometimes disaster.
History
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
shortage and the ideology of Czechoslovak
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
leaders. Planners from the Communist era wanted to provide large quantities of affordable housing
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
and to slash costs by employing uniform designs over the whole country. They also sought to foster a "collectivistic nature" in the people. In case of war, these houses would not be as susceptible to firebombing
Firebombing
Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs....
as traditional, densely packed buildings.
Between 1959 and 1995, paneláks containing 1.17 million flats were built in what is now the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. They house about 3.5 million people, or about one-third of the country's population.
In Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and other large cities, most paneláks were built in panelák housing estates. Such developments now dominate the periphery of Prague, Bratislava and other towns. The largest panelák housing estate in Prague is Jižní Město
Jižní Město
Jižní Město is a panel housing estate situated in an open area in the southeast of Prague, and the largest housing estate in the Czech Republic. The estate houses most of the 80,000 inhabitants of the municipal district Prague 11, part of the Prague 4 administrative district. Large parts of Chodov...
, with 200 buildings built since the 1970s.
The largest concentration of paneláks in the former Czechoslovakia and central Europe can be found in Petržalka
Petržalka
Petržalka ) is the largest borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Situated on the right bank of the river Danube, it is home to approximately 150,000 people.-History:Historical records of Petržalka exist from 1225...
(population about 130,000), a section of the Slovak
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
capital of Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
.
The city of Most
Most
Most is the capital city of the Most District, situated between the Czech Central Mountains and the Ore Mountains, approximately northwest of Prague along the Bílina River and southwest of Ústí nad Labem.-Etymology:...
is known for having a dominant share of people living in paneláks (aprox. 80%). The historical city was torn down because of coal mining and the inhabitants were moved into paneláks.
Characteristics
In comparison to pre-war apartment buildings, paneláks can be truly enormous. Some are more than 100 metres long, and some are more than 20 stories high. Some even have openings for carAutomobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s and pedestrians to pass through, lest they have to go all the way around the building.
Paneláks are the butt of many jokes in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. Many people criticize them for low design quality, mind-numbing appearance, second-rate construction materials and shoddy construction practices. In 1990, Václav Havel
Václav Havel
Václav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
, then president of Czechoslovakia, called paneláks "undignified rabbit pens, slated for liquidation." Panelák housing estates as a whole are said to be mere bedroom communities with few conveniences and even less character.
However, paneláks are not universally detested. Some panelák housing estates were designed by Czech architects who aspired to follow the tradition of pre-war Czech modern architecture
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
, notably functionalism
Functionalism (architecture)
Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern...
. Despite unfortunate cost-saving changes during construction, some of those panelák estates do not fit the critique above.
Some housing estates do have other facilities, such as shopping centres, schools, libraries, swimming pools, and cinemas. Also, architects sometimes made an effort to make the buildings distinct, by mixing various types of panelaks, for example, or by using different colours. Well-designed housing estates also have some environmental advantages. By leaving wide spaces between buildings, designers created large green spaces and parks, which are lacking in many prewar Czech neighbourhoods. In some places, paneláks were an improvement in sanitary conditions.
Paneláks today
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, paneláks today remain home to a mix of social classes, with middle class prevailing (according to sociologist Michal Illner from the Czech Academy of Sciences
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic was established in 1992 by the Czech National Council as the Czech successor of the former Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. The Academy is the leading non-university public research institution in the Czech Republic...
quoted in http://reality.ihned.cz/1-10009430-15804060-K00000_detail-92)
Thus, there is little social stigma associated with living in a panelák. Many apartments are well-appointed inside; there is even a home magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, Panel Plus, aimed at the millions of panelák-dwellers.
Panelák estates, especially in big cities, are the obvious first targets for builders of telecommunication networks, as the housing estates combine a high concentration of people with easy access to underground and in-house spaces for cables. Panelák housing estates are usually the first neighbourhoods with access to cable tv, WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
network coverage, cable-modem
Cable modem
A cable modem is a type of network bridge and modem that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a HFC and RFoG infrastructure. Cable modems are primarily used to deliver broadband Internet access in the form of cable Internet, taking advantage of the high...
service, DSL and other telecommunication services.
The attitude of panelák inhabitants to their buildings vary. According to Illner, "people get used to living in paneláks". Many panelák flats are now the property of their inhabitants and whole buildings are managed by syndicates of flat owners. Many buildings have been renovated, often with the support of local governments. Renovations have often included the installation of thermal insulation for energy efficiency
Efficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
and new coats of colourful paint
Paint
Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...
.
The cost of replacing of paneláks in the short term would be well beyond the means of the Czech Republic or Slovakia. Nonetheless, the decay of many paneláks remains a serious problem requiring the attention of authorities in both countries.
Many Czech sociologists have expressed concern about the social development of panelák housing estates. The most endangered would be those lacking facilities other than "sleeping blocks" and with a bad connection to business and commercial centres. Some people fear that with the growth and deregulation of the housing market, the middle class may flee to other locations, and such panelák estates may become refuges for the poor or ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
s for minorities and immigrants.
Some local authorities are making significant efforts to prevent this scenario by changing bedroom communities into multifunctional urban neighbourhoods. This may include support for the construction of missing facilities, such as shopping centres or churches. Governments may also invest in improving transport accessibility, as with the new light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
line to Barrandov in Prague.
The Chánov
Chanov
Chanov was a Soviet football goalkeeper family:* Viktor Gavrilovich Chanov — father, and two sons:** Viktor Viktorovich Chanov ** Vyacheslav Chanov...
housing estate in Most
Most
Most is the capital city of the Most District, situated between the Czech Central Mountains and the Ore Mountains, approximately northwest of Prague along the Bílina River and southwest of Ústí nad Labem.-Etymology:...
, Czech Republic, is an example of what planners are trying to avoid. In the 1990s, middle-class residents moved out in response to an influx of Romany immigrants. Many of the remaining residents lacked jobs, money, education and the social skills needed for life in an urban environment. The water was cut off due to unpaid bills; elevators stopped working; and garbage piled up in mounds. A public-private partnership
Public-private partnership
Public–private partnership describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies...
is now working on improving living conditions in the housing estate.
Other countries
The term panelák refers specifically to buildings in the former Czechoslovakia. However, similar buildings were built in other Communist countries and even in the West.In Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, these buildings (called "panelház
Panelház
Panelház is the name of a type of block of flats in Hungary and Hungarian inhabited areas of the Pannonian Basin. Transylvanian Magyars call these buildings tömbház . It was the main housing type built in the Socialist era. From 1959 to 1990 788,000 panel flats were built in Hungary...
", or shortly "panel") are long associated with the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
and the unemployed, thus bearing a social stigma.
In Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, they are colloquially known as "panelki", and are the predominant type of en masse housing throughout the country.
Most buildings in soviet era Microdistrict
Microdistrict
Microdistrict, or microraion , is a residential complex—a primary structural element of the residential area construction in the Soviet Union and in some post-Soviet and former Communist states...
s are panel buildings .
Popular culture
- The movie Panelstory from Vera ChytilovaVera ChytilováVěra Chytilová is an avant-garde Czech film director and pioneer of Czech cinema. Banned by the Czechoslovakian government in the 1960s, she is best known for her Czech New Wave film, Sedmikrásky...
shows a life of several inhabitants in the real unfinished communist-bloc apartment project. Awarded in San RemoSanremoSanremo or San Remo is a city with about 57,000 inhabitants on the Mediterranean coast of western Liguria in north-western Italy. Founded in Roman times, the city is best known as a tourist destination on the Italian Riviera. It hosts numerous cultural events, such as the Sanremo Music Festival...
1980 by Great Prize. - Béla TarrBéla Tarr-Life:Tarr was born in Pécs, but grew up in Budapest. Both of his parents were close to theatre and film: his father was a scenery designer, while his mother has been working as a prompter at a theater for more than 50 years now...
's film Panelkapcsolat tells a doomed love story set in a similar housing project in Hungary. Special Mention at the 1982 Locarno Film Festival.
See also
- PlattenbauPlattenbauPlattenbau is the German word for a building whose structure is constructed of large, prefabricated concrete slabs. The word is a compound of Platte and Bau...
- Tower blockTower blockA tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, office tower, apartment block, or block of flats, is a tall building or structure used as a residential and/or office building...
- UrbanismUrbanismBroadly, urbanism is a focus on cities and urban areas, their geography, economies, politics, social characteristics, as well as the effects on, and caused by, the built environment.-Philosophy:...
- Pruitt–Igoe - similar housing project in the United States
- Co-op City - New York City co-op neighborhood resembling panelaks in some ways
- Khrushchyovka
- Eastern Bloc economiesEastern Bloc economiesAfter the Soviet Union's occupation of much of the Eastern Bloc during World War II, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin implemented socioeconomic transformations of each of the Eastern Bloc economies that comported with the Soviet Communist economic model...