The Soviet architectural legacy
One of the things we absolutely loved about Cuba was the Soviet era architecture.
It dominants the skyline in Havana, as well as some residences and government buildings in Varadero. The Cubans have added a Caribbean flavour to the Brutalist and Modernist structures with bold pastel colours.
Below are some of the photos of our favourite buildings from the capital and the seaside resort of Varadero.
Cuba’s architectural history
We spent a lot of our time in Cuba in shock, which we will explain in another post soon. Unfortunately this didn’t leave us much time to investigate the history of the island’s architecture. However as soon as we were able to access the internet more regularly we were on it! We couldn’t get enough of blog posts and forums about visiting Cuba. We wanted to see how our experience compared with others and to find out more about the history of the country.
Through my internet trawl I found this very interesting article. It looks at the architectural revolution Cuba has been through, and takes you inside some of the Soviet influenced mammoths we only saw from the outside.
For 5 things you didn’t know about Cuba follow this link!
26 comments
The rounded corners on buildings also appear on quite a few 1950s structures in the UK too !
I hope when we’re back in the UK again we can do a little photo shoot and capture some of those buildings too!
It’s so interesting how they took the Soviet-era structures and made them their own with the bright colors! I’m so used to seeing those kind of buildings against harsh snow or forests in Eastern Europe, so seeing them against the bright blue ocean is something different!
I’ve never been lucky enough to see these Soviet-era buildings against snow, but would love to travel round Eastern Europe sometime to do exactly that. However it wa super cool seeing them in bright colours, and I am guessing that with the ocean as a backdrop they have a totally different feeling. I do have to say the creativity and variety between the buildings was really cool. My architect husband was beside himself with excitement!
Cuba is like stepping back in time to the 50’s! It’s such an interesting and colourful place, looks amazing!
It really is like stepping back in time! I know most people that visit love the colonial buildings and that’s what you usually see photos of. We did think they were gorgeous. But it was these enormous, powerful concrete buildings that really made us excited.
Wow, I can see where Miami gets so much of its influence from. Would love to explore here one day!
ahhh really? I’ve never been to Miami, but had heard there’s a big Cuban influence. Might get to check it out some time, fingers crossed!
These structures are so amazing, I am always in awe every time I see pictures from Cuba, love all the retro colors and buildings! I want to go!
Valerie
The colours of Cuba are awesome, that is something they definitely know how to do well. Hope you have a fab time if you do go. Drop me an email and I’ll share some tips if you do go. There are definitely some things we wish we knew before we went there.
Your photos are really interesting. I didn’t realize there was Soviet architecture in Cuba, but of course it makes sense. I’ve seen Soviet architecture in Berlin, Bucharest, and St. Petersburg, but I think the Soviet architecture in Cuba is a little more colorful.
Yes I didn’t realise either before we got there, it was definitely one of the highlights for us. From photos I think it is more colourful, but I would also love to viist the places you’ve mentioned and check out the architecture.
Really great gallery! Cuba looks so so beautiful 🙂
Ah thanks! It is really beautiful, but so much more to it if you scratch under the surface. It is the country that has shocked me the most of any I’ve visited.
Indonesia has a lot of this style, from a certain era of their history. I think this is the first time I heard someone say they *loved* this Soviet style architecture!
I didn’t realise Indonesia had some architecture like this. Is it in particular areas? I have visited a couple of times, but it is so vast I guess I missed it. I’m not sure I would like to be surrounded by architecture like this constantly, but I really do love how big and powerful they look, you definitely can’t miss them.
I visited Cuba last year and I was so fascinated by the architecture and the people. The colonial buildings were gorgeous but it was also interesting to see the buildings that were falling apart.
I’m always interested to hear what other people think of Cuba, how was your trip? It was totally different to what we had expected, inclduing these massive concrete structures that we loved!
Beautiful photography! It’s interesting the similarities in Eastern European Soviet architecture and the Cuban architecture. Thanks for the introduction!
I haven’t been to any Soviet countries (yet I hope!) but having seen photos from there, yes there are definitely big similarities. Just not the colours I think!
This reminds me a bit of Miami – I didn’t realise the Cuban influence on the architecture there! I’ve also never seen this aspect of Cuba shared before, it offers a different perspective from the usual photos of narrow streets with a totally different style of architecture.
That’s exactly what Nichole said! Having never been to Miami I haven’t seen the similarities first hand, but have heard about the big Cuban influence there. Yes we hadn’t seen much of this side of Cuba before we arrived, but we definitely appreciated it when we were there. Took the Havana tour bus as a reccie and then jumped in one of the funny coconut rickshaws to stop and take photos. It was lots of fun!
Cuba has been on my “to visit” list for so long. Is it kind of like stepping back in time? The buildings feel like it would be. I love your pictures – so colourful!
Ah thanks Katherine. Yes it is definitely like stepping back in time, the cars, the buildings, the payphones! We have definitely never been anywhere like Cuba before.
What a fascinating mix of architectural styles. The bold buildings with such striking colors. A different perspective from the typical pictures of Cuba we see around. Appreciate this perspective. Thank you.
Yes we hadn’t seen any examples like this before we had been to Cuba, but for us it was really cool. I know concrete Soviet era architecture is not everyone’s taste, but we love it, and also cool to see the bright Cuban twist on it.