Troublesome Prefab. Neighbourly and Artistic Practices in the Transformation of Space in Sofia’s Block Housing Estates

The aim of the article is to show social practices (neighbourly and artistic) activated around the example of Sofia’s dissonant heritage, which is the space of a housing complex. The author interprets the capital’s block housing estates as zones of transition between what is public and what is private, where specialized urban planning meets the everyday experience of residents, and the dehumanizing uniformity of the landscape clashes with the effects of amateur activities aimed at personalizing the environment. Using the methodological tools of anthropology of visual culture and arts and cultural studies, the author considers grassroots ways of adapting housing estate space to the residents’ needs, as well as attempts towards its visual revitalization using street art. The analysis shows that apartment blocks — as dissonant heritage, and at the same time a personal space — are today a field of activities of local communities and the artistic community, exploring the aesthetic and social potential of housing complexes.