There is hardly anything easier than to write a short account about a single building from the 1950s, that has, in addition, shown its own persistence, that has not embarked on any socialist or post-Stalinist pathos, and yet has still remained an eloquent witness of its time. Or so I thought, when I somewhat too light-heartedly promised to write this text.

There is nothing harder than to write about a building from the 1950s, from a culture that is close yet alienated, that constitutes an architectural walk along the ridge that divides architectural hopes from political reality. We former Westerners will never really manage to make any judgements about this political reality. It probably is worth the effort, but it will remain at the level of an attempt.