balcony breach
the company of the first floor balconies.. . . . . . . .
resident babas
Sitting at the entry bench, checking our shopping bags and letting us know if the vegetables we bought are good.
messenger pigeons
"It's nothing, we can talk from here, I'll just yell for you."
the biggest pain
'The whole concept, the whole point!!..'
municipal lands
The municipality showed up in our backyard this morning.
In their uniforms and with their bright blue trimmers, they went to work on the fresh, though already overgrown, grasses.
She . . . . . . . .
glass boxes
for some reason, usually rarely inhabited.. . . . . . . .
easter egg hunt
It's white pvc glows in the Easter morning light, a beacon of the private prevailing over the soviet designed apartments.
ins and outs of individuality
"Through orientation!"
"Their view!"
"Their balcony!"
"And most importantly, looking at the building from the outside!"
full glass
switching out materiality.
ac honors
'it is in honor of Rusi Slavov - a fugleman who saved the lives of thousands of Bulgarians from Aegean Thrace......
future of the block businesses
big box foreign stores now line the main artery of Trakiya, all built within the last 15 years.. . . . . . . .
Word and Voice
Grandpa would always send me out with 20 stotinki to buy Word, cigarettes, and gum.
a disgrace in bloom
"Don't you think it's ugly, everyone doing their own thing? It's a disgrace to the architect."
shades of grey
"You got here at the worst time"
concentrated corners
. . . . . . . .
shades and tones of green
along with energy standards, have changed over the years. . . . . . . .
hanging by a wire
me and tosho on the roof.
the internet cord. . . . . . . .
empty fountain playgrounds
play pens parents stick the little ones in to keep them in one area,
soccer pit where boys aspiring to be the next …. take turns making shots at one . . . . . . . .
checking on the neighbors
“susedite mozhe da gledat si rabotata!”
the neighbors can mind their own business!. . . . . . . .
advertising
the signage strategy of the shoe cobbler in block 71. . . . . . . .
landscape of garages
illegal and informal… yet well laid out.. . . . . . . .
women’s day
"This is why March is a women's month.."
monuments of Trakiya
and they gather around them, looking up their skirts, comparing who is the bash maestera
gumazhiya
the tire man's fingerprints surround each well used tool.
new construction contrasts
Trakiya, as the fall of communism interrupted its construction, is still obtaining new buildings among the panel blocks.. . . . . . . .
doggy in the window
“Nobody really owned dogs during communism… now there are these massive dogs in these tiny apartments..”. . . . . . . .
bird cages
the latest in ornate security.. . . . . . . .
iron curtains
the softer side of things.. . . . . . . .
muffin tops
"It's like putting on a shirt that's way too small...."
wallpaper markings
"it was what everyone had... and now I cant imagine getting rid of it."
domashni cigarettes
homemade cigarettes. . . . . . . .
soc tile patterns
innocent florals to mod concentric circles, the tile selections throughout Trakiya as availability and choices shifted the fall of communism.. . . . . . . .
panelka kindergarten
the vertical village takes on childcare. . . . . . . .
empty pools
the fate of the original landscaping design of Trakiya. . . . . . . .
balcony spout
symphony playing over the nuclear bomb test sirens, neighbors with buckets of water, and a synchronized arcs of water from the balconies above.
original doors
and their original identification.. . . . . . . .
overriding the scupper
The large u-shaped scuppers are a definitive design element of the panel blocks of Trakiya.
And, just as other design elements here, the inhabitants have had thoughts of their own.. . . . . . . .