Zprávy památkové péče 2015, 75(4):307-312
Post-war apartment construction and heritage preservation using the example of Great Britain and Scandinavia
Following WWII, Scandinavia and Great Britain focused strongly on building a welfare state with a great emphasis on the construction of municipal or cooperative apartments and housing estates. Together, they applied the general concept of affordable and modern housing built on the principles of industrialized construction, the use of precast concrete, and standardized architecture. The greatest expansion was reached with mass construction in the 1960s, when England and Scandinavia built vast housing estates with panel houses and huge tower blocks. Since the 1990's, England has begun to apply heritage protection to the housing estates of the 1940-1960's, despite lingering resistance to modernist architecture. Today, the list of cultural heritage in England alone holds around thirty protected housing estates and apartment buildings. Sweden and Finland also protect selected examples of mass housing which they consider symbols of the formation of the welfare state, which they are even proud of. Danes hold a similar pride as well, although as yet no examples of post-war construction have been included in their inventory of cultural heritage.
Keywords: post-war construction, housing estates, heritage protection, Scandinavia, Great Britain
Published: December 1, 2015 Show citation
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