This should be of interest to Gywnn Compton who wants high rise apartments in Waikanae and the rest of Kapiti.

In the old days, communist countries gave you plattenbau buildings, which were drab, dull and depressing — here is an example in Halle Neustadt with a picture of East German Communist Boss Erich Honecker. The picture of him was probably a colour one, but the buildings were communist grey.

At least these ones gave you a balcony, often you didn’t even get that.

But freed from communist shackles, this is creativity in Moscow now:

Patterns with tiles and windows and a lack of uniform heights are a touch of panache. This is a screengrab from Russell’s latest accomodation tour video.