The Evolution of the Apartment Complex at the Close of the Cold War Era: The Coevalness of the 1987 International Building Exhibition in Berlin and the Jamsil Asian Athletes’ Village Apartments in Seoul

The present paper aims to identify the early signs of the post-Cold War era in the apartment complexes of West Berlin and Seoul, metropolises of divided countries on opposite sides of the globe. The analysis reveals that these housing complexes exhibited features that were characteristic of Cold War cities, including ideological uniformity, the dominance of private interests and functional efficiency, enclosure, and the destruction of historical communities. Paradoxically, both Cold War cities demonstrated the coevaleness in the evolution of the housing. Despite their marked differences in historical and socio-cultural contexts, the 1987 International Architecture Exhibition in Berlin and the Asian Athletes’ Village Apartments in Seoul shared a common thread: a departure from the typical Cold War ideology of development. This shift resulted in the creation of living spaces that were autonomous yet communal, vibrant yet environmentally sustainable. The IBA’s approach diverged from conventional demolition-driven redevelopment methods, opting for a postmodern architectural intervention in the regeneration of social housing in Berlin. Conversely, the Jamsil Asian Athletes’ Village Apartments sought to address the perceived sterility of large-scale high-rise apartment complexes, often seen as a by-product of development dictatorship, through a pluralistic design approach that prioritized streets and courtyards. Architectural experiments on both sides of the globe served as harbingers of the post-Cold War era, partially transforming the dehumanized living spaces characteristic of Cold War cities. These historical examples ultimately give rise to fundamental questions regarding the nature of human dwelling.