Decorative ‘Blokosha’ Nests Paper Replicas of Post-War Buildings Like Matryoshka Dolls
Much like New York, after World War II, European cities found themselves in need of additional housing. In response, large estates were built and the post-war urban landscape began to take shape. In the 1950s-1980 these “house factories” were in their prime and advancements in building methods and technology allowed developers to build entire districts from scratch especially in the Eastern Block (the former communist states of Central and Eastern Europe). Inspired by this type of architecture, Designer Zupagrafika’s Blokosha is a playful look at these concrete modernist estates, where paper replicas can be tucked away much like Russian nesting dolls.
These neighborhoods became tangible reflections of the pre-war modernist ideas of open urban spaces, minimalist design and social egalitarianism. The four pre-cut and pre-folded nesting blocks open in half and fit inside of one another. Each represent various areas of the former Eastern Bloc.
The buildings are printed on recycled paper and are pre-cut, pre-folded and require no glue or scissors for assembly.
Zupagrafika is a Hispano-Polish creative design studio set up in 2012. The studio was born out of a shared passion for the Polish Poster School. The studio’s online shop was set up as an outlet for self initiated projects including paper collections inspired by modernist and brutalist architecture, and Polish industrial design icons. All the objects are illustrated, designed and published by Zupagrafika and printed on recycled materials.
See more work from Zupagrafika here.
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