Why in Norilsk residential buildings were built without balconies and they were cleaned where they were

Norilsk is a city of contrasts and, undoubtedly, a beautiful place. There is something so alluring in it that you will not feel in many other cities of Russia. Arriving at least for an hour in Norilsk, you will immediately get the feeling that something is wrong here, and then it will dawn on you that the houses were built without balconies. Yes, yes, typical Khrushchevs look very non-standard and even a little strange.

It is very unusual for a city guest to see simple high-rise buildings, of which there are millions not only in Russia, but also in the CIS countries, but completely without balconies. What kind of feature is this? Why did the developers in Norilsk decide not to add them, and why did they cut them off where they already were?

Norilsk houses - where did the balconies go?

Khrushchev without a single balcony is definitely an unusual situation, but you will not see this in any other city. Standard five-story buildings look very strange, and in some places you can see that there were extensions, but for some reason they were dismantled. Moreover, the building of the 40-50s. still with them, but then the buildings were erected without them.

Norilsk was founded in the 30s, and received the status of a city only after the war. It was at that moment that mass construction began. However, in this young city, the construction time was simply as short as possible, if not record-breaking. Normally, the team was supposed to build a full-fledged building in two weeks, but at that time they fit into the minimum 7 days. The absence of balconies in the projects greatly facilitated this task, since both the amount of work and, in fact, time were reduced.

The reason was also the fact that Norilsk is a northern city, and the number of inhabitants reached more than 150 thousand people. Moreover, snow was observed here for about 8 months, and in such a merciless and harsh climate, there seemed to be no need for a balcony. Well, who will dry clothes on the street or want to drink a cup of coffee, admiring the street?! Perhaps, such daredevils were not just few, but they, most likely, were completely absent.

Then another argument was “born”: since the temperature in Norilsk changed dramatically, and the wind here did not spare no one, then the already built balconies simply began to collapse, which, of course, was completely not safe. After several cases of collapse, they were simply cut off where they already were.

In the center of Norilsk, you can see several houses after reconstruction with so-called balconies, or rather their imitation. There is a functioning door, which is covered with bars from the outside.

So Norilsk was left without balconies. True, when nine-story buildings began to be built in the city, the design there already assumed built-in loggias.