Parasitic Architecture as a Strategy for Breaking Urban Boundaries

Abstract

The architectural logic of urban development always provokes the appearance of boundaries. These boundaries can be both objective (geographical, administrative, etc.) and subjective (imaginary, based on traditions, social norms, and everyday practices). However, for citizens, the most important border concerns the boundary between private and public space, between their ‘home’ and the outside world. This boundary is not always obvious because these two options interpenetrate in many ways. Parasitic architecture is one of the strategies that successfully overcome the established urban boundaries. It means transitional forms of architecture, which are associated with the placement of certain structures on existing buildings. Parasitic architecture is no more regarded as a negative phenomenon in the contemporary architectural design. Moreover, it is considered in the context of mediating between the changes in the society and the urban system, since formal urban construction always provokes the emergence of further adaptations. In the post-Soviet countries, the most impressive example of parasitic architecture is presented by the expanded/remodeled/glazed balconies. These architectural elements become a way of transforming public space into a private one. They make expansion of the apartment outwards, into the territory of the facade of the house. Remodeled balconies are not a manifestation of city outcasts anymore. They became a powerful daily practice, traditional and standardized. Balconies are primarily a declaration of privacy, but also, they are the result of a specific historical background, as well as a reflection of economic and political contexts. Remodeled balconies are a claim for a more flexible architecture (that is, a type of architecture with more flexible borders), which will meet the grassroots needs of city dwellers instead of the intentions of public or private developers. Thus, the analysis of Ukrainian balconies in line with the current trends in parasitic architecture will allow a deeper immersion in the modern urban everyday life and comprehension of the mechanism for creating social norms and overcoming urban boundaries.