Ten Apartments, Ten Lives in Communist-Era Bucharest

January 27, 2016 · Zhang Fengming

Seventy percent of the homes in Bucharest, Romania’s capital, are neatly divided apartment blocks. They were built during the socialist period and have much the same layout. The idea behind giving people identical homes was to prevent the “new socialist person” from comparing themselves with others and, ultimately, to eliminate individualism.

Bogdan Girbovan is a photographer who lives and works in Bucharest. A few years ago, he lived for three years in an apartment building constructed in 1966. It was an ordinary building, like the other 70,000 apartment blocks in the city.

He created a photography project called 10/1: portraits of ten households in his building. Because all the apartments had the same floor plan, he took every photograph from roughly the same position in each unit. “This makes it easier to show the outlook of different social classes living under one roof—their personalities and design preferences.”

Bogdan introduces his neighbors:

1st floor, apartment 7

A retired woman who lives alone and does not wish to be named. Before the Romanian Revolution of 1989, she designed banknotes. She has lived here for ten years. Owner.

2nd floor, apartment 12

A mother and daughter who prefer to remain anonymous, both respected women. The daughter is a former track-and-field athlete who travels often and visits museums. After her husband died, she moved in with her mother. Owners.

3rd floor, apartment 17

The apartment is for sale; its owner is abroad. Thanks to Mr. Cojanu Llie, the building’s “chairman,” who had the key, I was able to get inside and take a picture. He agreed to appear in the photo, on one condition: “I won’t look at the camera, you know. After all, I am the chairman of this building.”

4th floor, apartment 22

Don Lucas, an older gentleman (he did not want to give his real name; this is his nickname), has just returned from Spain and lives here with his girlfriend.

5th floor, apartment 27

Mrs. Suhariuc Ioana is retired. She has lived here since 1967 and alone since 1982. Since 1989, she has shared the apartment with a cat. Owner.

6th floor, apartment 32

A public figure who does not wish to reveal either their name or face. A short-term tenant.

7th floor, apartment 37

Lonut lives alone. According to the chairman, “He’s a ladies’ man and a little hard of hearing, but he’s a good lad. He’ll definitely let you take his picture.” Owner.

8th floor, apartment 42