Falowiec – the amazing Gdansk "wave" and its tasks (10 photos + 1 video)

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a series of apartment buildings of an unusual shape were erected in the Polish city of Gdansk. They were given the common name falowiec, from the Polish word "fala" (wave) and the plural form falowce. These buildings received their name due to the characteristic wave-like pattern that they form, replacing each other.





There are eight such buildings in Gdansk, the most famous of which is located in the Przymorze district. It has 11 floors, 16 flights of stairs, 1,792 apartments, and about six thousand residents. It looks like a small city.



The building's parameters are truly impressive - 32 meters high, 13 meters wide and 860 meters long - putting it on par with the most famous residential giants. The building stretches out like a huge train. There are as many as three public transport stops along its entire length. The building has four addresses. The building is so large that it affects the movement of air, creating its own unique microclimate around it. It is colder in the north, and snow and frost last longer. In the south, the average temperature is slightly higher, and in hot weather, grass and trees dry out faster.





Falovets was built during an era of acute housing shortage. The buildings were conceived as a temporary solution. However, as practice shows, there is nothing more permanent than temporary. And for decades they became an integral part of the seaside landscape.



The blocks were designed and built according to a single scheme. Most of the apartments can be accessed from open galleries located along the northern wall. At first, you could walk along them from one end of the building to the other. But then the residents built walls separating individual apartments from each other.



The shape and appearance of the buildings resemble a sea wave. Due to their impressive size, even the settlement was carried out in stages. When residents moved into the first segment, the following ones were still being completed.



The surroundings of the architectural giant for a long time resembled a construction site. There were piles of sand around, concrete slabs were scattered, one could only dream of lawns and even a sidewalk. But for most people, having their own apartment, even a small one, is already a great joy. And a large number of neighbors is simply the cost of the modern world.