All right, I know what you are going to say, but you have to admit, dear reader, that the high rise apartment buildings being built here in New York City have more than just a passing resemblance to the ones built in East Germany from the 1960's to the 1980's.
I am thinking in particular about the ugly buildings going up on newly rezoned Fourth Avenue as well as the ones wedged in between 2 and 3 story houses a bit all over Brooklyn. Devoid of style and uniqueness, they hardly seem better than some of the developments that mushroomed all over East Germany.
Known as Plattenbau ( Platten: slabs Bau: building), the East German high rises were assembled on location by using pre-fabricated slabs of concrete for ceilings and walls.
This technique was incredibly popular mostly because it was super fast and helped to alleviate the huge housing shortage after World War II.
Though this style is mostly associated with Communist D.D.R., Plattenbau was used in West Germany as well as some other Eastern European countries. However, the D.D.R. was so fond of this building technique that the government built miles and miles of these stacked rabbit cages.
Yes, I know, most of New York City's high-rises are ultra luxurious compared to those behind the iron curtain. And yet, I feel as though the overall effect on our city is very much the same. Surely, we can expect a bit more individuality, a tad more style from the developers who have been given carte blanche from this city administration.
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