Designed to Repeat, Forced to Adapt: The Parallel Architecture of Socialist Housing

Novi Beograd (New Belgrade), a planned city built in 1948. Photo © Piotr BednarskiA housing block in New Belgrade appears orderly from a distance. Concrete slabs repeat with disciplined consistency, windows align into measured grids, and balconies stack with the confidence of a system certain of itself. However, proximity changes the reading. One balcony is enclosed in aluminum glazing, another softened with improvised shading. Insulation thickens part of a façade while laundry frame