Contentious Spaces : Uncovering the Hidden Narratives of State-Socialist Built Heritage

Abstract

The architectural heritage of socialist modernism and conservation in former Eastern Bloc countries. Contentious Spaces explores the heritage of state-socialist architecture and urbanism, examining the socio-political, economic, and cultural processes that shaped these developments. The articles collected in this volume investigate both the conservation and preservation of this heritage, as well as the historicisation of modernist architectural vocabulary in the contemporary era. Moreover, the texts consider state-socialist architecture and urban planning heritage in relation to today’s built environment globally and current geopolitical and socio-cultural processes. Contentious Spaces expands existing scholarship by engaging with marginalised actors and spaces within post-socialist discourse. This includes acknowledging the architectural heritage of women architects and minorities, as well as the links between the political centres of power and modernist architecture in geopolitical peripheries and their contemporary heritage. Geographically, the chapters engage with East-Central Europe, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and other post-socialist spaces worldwide.