THE STRENGTH AND DEGRADATION OF MASS HOUSING CONCEPTS IN SLOVAKIA.

Slovak housing estates represent the realizations of 20th century urban visions. Construction of mass housing was not only substantiation of the Athens charter ideas to the urban conception. A large number of housing estates in Slovakia from this period has a quality and original urban concept. The authors of the settlements, however, often point to the fact that the realized settlements has varied considerably from the original intentions. What qualities (problems) did the new construction lacking the concept bring? Can the original concept be the inspiration for the transformation of existing settlements? To what extent does it allow them to adapt to today's conditions and needs? The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of the original concept and the project of settlement. Compare them with the implementation and the current state. In the work we identify: - The key unrealized elements of housing estates, essential for the original concept. - Realized construction, which distorts the original concept. Comparison of original concepts and projects of housing estates with their implementation and the current state were processed for case studies of housing estates in Bratislava and Banská Bytrica. The starting point of our research was an archival research and a subsequent analysis of proposed and realized settlement patterns. Based on this analysis, we evaluated the degradation respective strength of the original concept and its adaptability to today's needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]