At the beginning of the 1950s, the first comprehensively equipped housing estate was built in Bratislava, which was intended to reflect not only the social but also the ideological program of the state. The architects drew on the so-called socialist realist style and designed the complex as an almost traditional closed block with an arcade covering for pedestrians on the busy Miletičova Street side and a park-like inner courtyard. The complexity of the housing estate's facilities was not limited to the commercial ground floor, kindergarten, and nursery in the inner courtyard, but also included a social hall and library located in the central seven-story building. The top floor housed studios for artists. The recessed central block creates a kind of palace -court d'honneur- and confirms the ideas of the authors and contemporary theorists of the sorely, who shaped the new residential complexes as "palaces for workers".
The return to the classical language of architecture is evidenced by the stucco decoration of the facades with stylized elements of acanthus leaves and volutes, as well as the sculptural decoration – nudes of children by sculptor František Draškovič. In the second half of the 1950s, however, there was a re-evaluation of "ornamental" socialist realism, and architect Paluš, who continued on the project, confidently updated the previously uncompleted parts – the Delfín swimming pool and five tower blocks.
Bibliography:
PALUŠ, Karol – TENGLER, Miloslav: Sídlište Miletičova ulice Bratislava. Architetura ČSR, 13, 1954, s. 161 – 162.
SCHILLER, Emanuel: Zhodnotenie projektu sídliska Bratislava – Miletičova ulica. Architetura ČSR, 13, 1954, s. 163 – 165.
KUSÝ, Martin: Architektúra na Slovensku 1945 – 1975. Bratislava, Pallas 1976.
DULLA, Matúš – MORAVČÍKOVÁ, Henrieta: Architektúra Slovenska v 20. storočí. Bratislava, Slovart 2002. 416 s.
