Modernist architecture, as a whole, tends to focus on minimalist, functional designs that reject over-the-top decorations. These buildings are also defined by the materials used, namely lots of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete.

But with so many different ‘flavors’ of modernism, no two architectural subgenres are exactly alike, even if there’s significant overlap between them. Socialist modernism, for instance, is very brutalist and functional, and you won’t mistake it for, say, the De Stijl or the post-war Japanese ‘metabolism’ styles.

Socialist modernism is the style of architecture erected in Central and Eastern Europe between 1955 and 1991. However, these ancient Eastern Bloc designs aren’t all given the care that they deserve. As time marches on, many of these giant slabs of history are falling into disrepair.

However, there are some that aim to preserve these shards of peculiar design. The Guardian notes that the Bureau for Art and Urban Research (BACU, aka the Birou pentru Artă şi Cercetare Urbană) began to document and preserve these buildings and their heritage in 2014.

“We aim to revitalize this heritage not only for symbolic reasons but because we believe in these elements that managed to defy some of the ideological requirements, giving the urban space a certain flavor so characteristic of those times,” Dumitru Rusu from BACU told The Guardian.

“Boulevards, public buildings, living units, and monuments, they all are a clear reflection of the social and cultural context of the socialist period.”

The initiative kick-started by BACU also maps socialist modernist buildings that can be found in Europe, using an online tool on their website. This way, they’re promoting awareness of countries’ architectural heritage that many people might have walked past a hundred times without realizing what they were looking at in the skyline. 

The r/SocialistModernism1 subreddit appears to be a branch of the BACU project to raise awareness of this style of architecture on various internet and social media platforms. Their goal is to protect, monitor, research, and preserve various socialist modernist buildings, monuments, parks, squares, as well as “entire districts and green areas.”

The first phase of BACU’s project is all about analysis and research while the second one focuses on regulations and educating the authorities and locals about the socialist modernist cultural heritage. The project also aims to unite everyone who is interested in architecture and preservation, from architects and urban planners to artists, activists, historians, and anyone else.

As time moves on, the philosophy of how we build and shape our cities shifts as well. It’s important to find compromises between the artistic visions of capable designers and what the people who will be living in the area truly need. Every new project is an opportunity to do better and better. Of course, what the 'better' means will depend on what society as a whole values at the moment.

Architectural innovation doesn’t have to be radical, as Dr. June Komisar from Ryerson University told Bored Panda during an interview, previously. “[It] can be an incremental change that will benefit the users and society at large. At the moment we have a huge opportunity to build sustainable buildings that approach or attain a 'net zero' energy cost. By using local and/or sustainable materials, designing for passive and/or active solar and wind power, designing for very low energy usage, and renovating and adapting existing buildings we can help to mitigate climate change,” the expert in architectural design and the history and theory of architecture said.

According to the expert, it’s important to balance the aesthetics of the building and its relationship to the site with its structural integrity and sustainability. “Understanding the site conditions and evaluating other buildings using the same construction techniques and materials can help avoid problems,” she pointed out how architects can aim to avoid at least some issues during the actual building process.