Why exactly 9-storey buildings were built in the USSR

After the 1917 revolution, intensive industrialization of the country began. The construction of large factories and the need for manpower have caused the relocation of people from the countryside to the cities. The workers were settled in temporary barracks, which for various reasons existed for decades. In the 60s of the last century, the USSR adopted the Program for providing the population with housing. Mass housing construction required huge funds, they, as always, were not enough, and it was necessary to save on everything. One of the main criteria for evaluating residential projects was cheapness. 9-storey buildings were built precisely because they, for a number of reasons, were significantly cheaper than other options.

Start of mass housing construction

The program of mass housing construction adopted in the USSR assumed the speedy resettlement of communal apartments and the exit of people from basements and barracks. The current generation of Russians perceives the word “communal apartment” simply as a sound combination, not knowing its content. And the older generation remembers communal apartments with a twofold feeling. There really was a common life, especially in the common kitchen. Three to five or more families lived in communal apartments. People with different characters, with different attitudes, with different education and with different biographies. Together we celebrated the holidays and fought mercilessly. The fact is that at the end of the 1920s, Moscow, and other industrial cities of the country, were extremely overpopulated. The people did not fit in the cities, there was not enough housing for everyone. They built factories, lived in barracks. And then the war, dozens of destroyed cities. Again barracks, again semi-basements.

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In the 60s, the opportunity arose to engage in housing construction. But the strategy was aimed at accelerating the construction of cheap housing. Residential house projects were carried out with the requirement to build an extremely cheap house in an extremely short time. The structures of houses and the factory technology for their production by the flow method were developed. Construction and reinforced concrete panels and blocks were developed and mastered in production, from which modules were assembled at factory sites - rooms, kitchens, bathrooms. These modules were brought to the construction site and, like a children's designer, they assembled the finished house. Plumbers, electricians, finishers followed the installers-builders, and everyone quickly did their job. Such a house did not need a basement and an attic - the water supply and heating were centralized, and there was no need to place additional equipment for these systems. This further simplified and reduced the cost of construction. In the five-story buildings, according to the standards that existed at that time, the elevator was not installed, and in the nine-story buildings they did not make a second freight elevator. A five-story building in four sections could be assembled in two weeks.

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Economic justification of the number of storeys

The house should be cheap, but at the same time meet some of the mandatory requirements. The amenities of the residents were not included in these requirements. And the concepts of "beauty" and "aesthetics" were not mentioned either. The kitchens were tiny, the bathroom was combined with a "sit-down" bath. But the former residents of the basements were incredibly happy about a separate apartment without neighbors.

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But the requirement to ensure fire safety was met rigorously. Although it is peculiar. If a fire breaks out in the house, then the tenants must be rescued. There are only three ways of salvation. Whoever can, runs away from the house with their own feet along the stairs (if it is not engulfed in flames). Those who cannot save themselves will be saved by firefighters. They will take people out on an external open "smoke-free" staircase or up the stairs of a fire engine that drove up to the house. And this fire engine has a ladder extended to the limit of only 28 meters. This is an international and Soviet standard. And this size just reaches the 9th floor window. That's all the explanation why not 8 floors and not 10.

When the housing hunger was slightly satisfied, 12- and 14-storey buildings began to appear. In these cases, we calculated the cost of house "smoke-free" fire escapes. And they also chose the cheapest combination of characteristics within the framework of the mandatory requirements.

Conclusion

Currently, the country solves housing problems in a different way. Architects create projects of residential complexes from beautiful multi-storey buildings. A wide variety of modern materials are used in construction and decoration. The size and layout of the apartment takes into account the needs, tastes and capabilities of a wide variety of people. The construction attracts funds not only from the state, but also from future residents. And the fate of the old Khrushchevs, who once rescued tens of thousands of people, has been decided. The country is developing a "Renovation Program", according to which old houses that have served their time honestly are demolished, and new, modern ones are being built in their place.