[en] The paper is a study of house-building cooperatives in the Lithuanian SSR as a field of architectural experimentation in planning, design and construction of mass housing during the late Soviet period (1960s–1980s). The house-building co-operatives were re-introduced in the USSR in 1962 as a substitute for the cessation of private single-family houses in large cities. Politically and economically, house-building co-operatives were seen as a solution to the difficult situation posed by the well-known Soviet apartment shortage because co-operative apartment arrangements meant that residents contributed their own funds to the process of building their homes, thereby avoiding the waiting list. The important change that housing co-operatives offered was the possibility for better-to-do citizens to obtain housing luxuries that were previously available only to the privileged party nomenclatura. From an urban planning perspective such a concentration of previously single houses into multi-apartment buildings was meant to minimise the municipal land taken up for housing and reduce the cost of engineering infrastructure. At the same time the introduction of co-operative housing resulted in more varied residential building designs (including more comfortable apartment layouts and better selection of materials), engaging in the process departments of experimental design at the State Design Institutes. In this paper a hypothesis is proposed that the development of co-operative housing stimulated architectural experimentation for groups concerning both privileged residents (because the process of co-operative housing accelerated the concentration of more affluent urban dwellers) and architects, who wished to express more varied residential planning ideas.The paper is a study of house-building cooperatives in the Lithuanian SSR as a field of architectural experimentation in the planning, design, and construction of mass housing during the late Soviet period (1960s–80s). House-building co-operatives were re-introduced in the USSR in 1962 as a substitute for the stoppage of private single-family dwellings in large cities. Politically and economically, house-building co-operatives were seen as a solution to the difficult situation posed by the apartment shortage. The co-operative apartment arrangements meant that residents contributed their own funds to the process of building their homes, thereby avoiding the waiting list. The important change that housing co-operatives offered was the possibility for better-off citizens to obtain housing luxuries that were previously available only to privileged communist party elite. From an urban planning perspective, concentrating zones previously allotted to single-family dwellings into multi-apartment buildings was a means of minimizing the municipal land taken up by housing and reducing the cost of engineering infrastructure. At the same time, the introduction of co-operative housing resulted in more varied residential building designs (including more comfortable apartment layouts and better selection of materials). The departments of experimental design at the State Design Institutes were engaged in the process. In this paper, we suggest the hypothesis that the development of co-operative housing stimulated architectural experimentation for two groups of people: privileged residents (because the process of co-operative housing accelerated the concentration of more affluent urban dwellers), and architects, eager to implement more varied residential planning ideas.

[it] Questo articolo studia le cooperative edilizie nella Repubblica Socialista Sovietica Lituana in quanto campo di sperimentazione architettonica nella pianificazione, progettazione e costruzione di alloggi di massa durante il tardo periodo sovietico (tra gli anni Sessanta e gli anni Ottanta). Le cooperative edilizie furono reintrodotte in Urss nel 1962 per compensare la scomparsa delle case unifamiliari private nelle grandi città. Dal punto di vista politico ed economico, le cooperative edilizie erano viste come una soluzione all'annoso problema della carenza di alloggi in Unione sovietica, perché gli accordi cooperativi prevedevano che gli abitanti contribuissero con fondi propri al processo di costruzione dei loro appartamenti, evitando così la lista d'attesa. Le cooperative edilizie permettevano così ai cittadini più benestanti di accedere a lussi abitativi precedentemente riservati alla privilegiata nomenklatura del partito. Dal punto di vista urbanistico, la trasformazione di case individuali in edifici di appartamenti aveva lo scopo di limitare il terreno pubblico occupato dagli alloggi e ridurre i costi della costruzione di infrastrutture. Allo stesso tempo l'introduzione dell'edilizia cooperativa portò a una maggiore varietà nella progettazione degli edifici residenziali (tra cui una disposizione più confortevole degli appartamenti e una migliore selezione dei materiali), coinvolgendo nel processo i dipartimenti di progettazione sperimentale degli Istituti nazionali di architettura. Questo articolo suggerisce che lo sviluppo dell'edilizia cooperativa abbia stimolato la sperimentazione architettonica a beneficio sia degli abitanti privilegiati (in quanto accelerava la concentrazione di una popolazione urbana benestante), sia degli architetti (permettendo loro di esprimere idee di pianificazione residenziale più varie).