奇速英语

乌克兰“长城”公寓：它的下一个十年在哪里？

Commonly known as “The Great Wall of China”, the world’s longest residential building is located at the crossing of Sobornosti Avenue and Molodezhy Street. Construction began in 1969 and was completed 11 years later. That’s an unusually long time for an apartment building, but this is an unusual project. The creation of two architects, R. G. Metelnitsky and V. K. Malovitsa, was the longest residential building in the Soviet Union upon completion, and has remained unrivaled in the world for over 40 years.

From ground level, it’s impossible to truly gauge the size of this enormous residential structure, but from above, its impressive honeycomb design is revealed. Although the main line of the building measures “only” 1.75 kilometers, when taking into account all its adjacent (毗连的) extensions, another kilometer is added to the total length. It is said that walking from one end of the building to the other at a normal pace takes the average person about an hour.

Featuring hundreds of entrances, over 3,000 apartments, tens of thousands of windows, and roughly 10,000 residents, the world’s longest residential building is larger than many small towns around the world. Initial residents recall struggling to find their apartments for weeks after moving in, which required the carrying out of a unique address system for each section.

Considered a fascinating modern-day wonder even among architects, “The Great Wall of China” may not remain in its current shape for much longer. Although located in the western part of Ukraine, away from the front lines of the war with Russia, the threat of bombings is constant all over the country. According to local news media, the building is in dire need of repair, but securing the funds is difficult in times of war.

A local travel agency has come up with a plan to secure funding for the repair of the world’s longest residential building by organizing tours and holding events on the roof of this unique concrete giant.