‘KHRUSHCHYOVKA’ K-7 BUILDING ANALYSIS

A Khrushchyovka refers to a Low cost, prefabricated concrete panelled building common throughout the Soviet Union, that came about during the 1960’s. They were a development from plans put forward during a soviet study conducted between 1947 and 1951 which stated that low-cost technology should be the forefront objective of Soviet Architects.

Developed by the Soviet Engineer Vitaly Lagutenko between 1954 and 1961, the K-7 building design was the best solution to fix the housing shortage faced at the time; with its quick construction and scalability, 64,000 units were built in a period of 7 years in Moscow alone. This speed of construction led to the ability of a 5 story K-7 being able to be topped out in just 12 days, with some whole buildings being completed in just 2 weeks.

The decision for a 5-story tower block becomes clear when looking at cost saving exercises implemented, as low-cost technologies were the key objective of the housing. Lifts were determined to be an un-needed expense, and soviet health and safety standards stated that 5 stories was the maximum height of a building without a lift; therefore, the K-7 was designed to be 5 stories tall.

present throughout many buildings. This combined with a poor level of maintenance led to the growth of mould, hastening the abandonment of many K-7 units across the Soviet Union. This lack of maintenance led to a decline in the standard of living, which in itself gave way to crime.

Many Khrushchyovka’s ended up vandalised & damaged later in their lifespan, Pictures of abandoned & derelict K-7’s are commonplace across the former Soviet Union.

However, they fulfilled a need for housing for tens of thousands of people, who still look upon them with a sense of nostalgia, the communities and relationships that grew out of them draw semblance with those of Western housing projects occurring at the same time. It is fair to say that they have become an iconic image of Khrushchev’s Soviet Union, marking a period of economic improvement for residents of them.

Khrushchyovka’s faced many of the same problems that plagued western brutalist designs, with damp problems and dark spaces caused by a lack of ventilation being

“As crappy as the Khrushchyovkas were, they were actually a significant improvement in the Soviet people’s life. In Moscow, they alleviated a severe housing crisis.” - Zoya Goldman

Khrushchyovka’s were officially called a K-7, a design for prefabricated 5-story buildings, but were given the nickname Khrushkoyovas, after the then party director of Moscow Nikita Khrushchev, who supervised soviet architectural projects. There were other similar projects that were occurring at the same time with slightly different designs, different heights, layouts and styles. These can all be classified under the Khrushchyovka namesake, but not all Khrushchyovka’s were K7’s.