Дим от бащиното огнище в... панелния апартамент
Smoke from the Native Hearth in... a Prefab Flat

Summary/Abstract: The focus of attention in the article is the prefab flat — one of the emblematic faces of socialism in Bulgaria. The confined floor space of the flat and its internal layout have not been designed in line with the housing traditions of the Bulgarian people. Subject to consideration here are the ways whereby the floors pace is being put to use by its new inhabitants in their endeavour to turn these prefab flats into homes, conforming to their practical needs and aesthetic conceptions. Two opposite trends take shape in the reconstruction of the newly acquired prefab dwelling. One has been related to the inhabitants' desire to restore the utilitarian and aesthetic functions of the traditional Bulgarian home. The other has been the search for what is new and up-to-date, which, under socialism, implies opting for the mass-produced, cheap and low quality. And this entails lowering of the aesthetic criteria, the underlying reason for which has not only been the individual taste, but society and its political and economic structure, as well.

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