[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.

[fr] Les coopératives de logements en République socialiste de Lituanie constituent un champ d'expérimentation architecturale appliqué à la planification, la conception et la construction de logements de masse à la fin de la période soviétique (années 1960-1980). Ces maisons coopératives ont été réintroduites en URSS en 1962 pour pallier la disparition des maisons individuelles privées dans les grandes villes. Politiquement et économiquement, les coopératives étaient considérées comme une solution à la pénurie d'appartements collectifs de type soviétique. Selon les règles de la coopérative, les résidents contribuaient sur fonds propres au processus de construction de leur logement, évitant ainsi les listes d'attente. C'était aussi l'opportunité pour des citoyens plus aisés d'accéder à des logements luxueux, auparavant réservés aux membres privilégiés du parti communiste. D'un point de vue urbanistique, la transformation de maisons individuelles en immeubles d'appartements était censée limiter les terrains dévolus au logement et réduire le coût des infrastructures techniques en ville. Dans le même temps, l'introduction des coopératives d'habitation a donné lieu à une plus grande variété dans la conception des bâtiments résidentiels (des appartements mieux agencés et plus confortables, avec des matériaux de meilleure qualité) impliquant des bureaux d'études expérimentaux intégrés aux Instituts nationaux d'architecture. On propose ici l'hypothèse selon laquelle le développement de l'habitat coopératif a stimulé l'expérimentation architecturale tout en profitant à des groupes de résidents privilégiés (en accélérant la concentration des citadins les plus aisés) et à des architectes qui souhaitaient innover dans la conception et l'aménagement des espaces résidentiels.