workersunit 2
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The West is the best, or Да здравствует Советский Союз (Long live the Soviet Union)? The Soviet era is back, stylised, decontextualised, and resurging across the digital landscape. As nostalgic ‘Soviet Wave’ drifts across the internet, Brutalist aesthetics are en vogue, and the gradual decay of its rotting architectural remains irresistible visual bait.
But have I really been immune to the influences of my generation – a generation for whom nothing is more ordinary than Coca-Cola and a digital overflow of imagery?
My second striking encounter with Soviet’ housing projects took place in Tbilisi: a building known as the ‘Skybridge’. We stumbled upon this architectural icon almost by coincidence.
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Constructed in 1976, Tbilisi’s legendary commi-block arrangement consists of three identical-looking high rises built on the steep terrain of the Nutsubidze Plateau in the northern part of the city. To this day, the skybridge remains essential infrastructure for the neighbourhood–linking the upper road with the residential area at the bottom of the hill. The connection runs through the middle tower: an elevator accessed via the bridge itself. To activate the ride, one must drop 20 tetri (the Georgian “cents”) into a small grey machine inside the cabin.
Residents rely on separate elevators, paying 10 tetri per ride. Inside, the towers house one- to three-room apartments. Each tower is in a different state of repair. The first building – the one farthest from the hillside – is in a severe state of dilapidation: non-functional elevators, missing doors, crumbling staircases, and visible holes in the walls. It seems to have been scavenged for materials, perhaps functioning as a kind of parts depot for the other towers.
In contrast, the other two buildings are fully inhabited, with balconies that have been gradually extended over time.
