zupagrafika’s book explores forgotten modernist estates in Europe

Zupagrafika’s book is a chronicle of the modernist states of Europe

independent publisher, author, photography Team and design studio Zupagrafika presents Kiosk, a comprehensive Photo book presents the last modernist stands in Central and Eastern Europe. Featuring over 150 kiosks from cities such as Ljubljana, Warsaw, Belgrade and Berlin, this book offers a rare insight into these remaining structures that have witnessed the sociopolitical changes of the late 20th century. The photos The photographs included in the volume were taken over a period of ten years and promise to immerse readers in a forgotten area of ​​architecture that many are not even aware of.

All images courtesy of Zupagrafika

the forgotten modular kiosks of the Eastern Bloc

From the 1970s through the 1990s, modular kiosks such as the iconic K67 designed by Slovenian architect Saša J. Mächtig and similar systems – including the Polish Kami, the Macedonian KC190 and the Soviet ‘Bathyscaphe’ – were mass-produced and ubiquitous throughout the former Eastern Bloc and the countries of the former Yugoslavia. These kiosks could be found everywhere from busy city squares to socialist-era housing projects, where they served as hot dog stands, Polish zapiekanka vendors, farm-raised egg and roast chicken sellers, funeral flower shops, newsstands, parking shelters and currency exchange offices. Some kiosks are still in operation or have been refurbished, while others have been abandoned or slowly disappeared from the urban landscape.

Photographed in the last decade by the founders of Zupagrafika (read more Here), David Navarro and Martyna Sobecka, the book contains a foreword by urban researcher Maciej Czarnecki and an introduction by architectural historian Anna Cymer and offers valuable insights into the history of these unique buildings.

The photo book shows over 150 kiosks from cities such as Ljubljana, Warsaw, Belgrade and Berlin

The modular kiosks were mass-produced from the 1970s to the 1990s

Many kiosks were set up in busy city squares and in socialist-era housing estates

the photographs contained in the volume were taken over a decade

Some of the kiosks housed sellers of farm eggs and roast chicken