This paper traces the evolution of social housing design with an emphasis on the lost altruism that was initially central to Constructivist social housing.

This article seeks to illuminate a commandeering of a design philosophy to serve capitalist property development. It is proposed to contrast various world renowned projects to their Constructivist forerunners highlighting the abandonment of the movement's social ideals for stylistic icon creation. Turning a social philosophy into a capitalist marketing strategy. I believe that little or no attention is being paid to the hallow misappropriation of revolutionary ideas by leading architects.

About a year ago, the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) in Chicago selected the Interlace, a luxury housing development in Singapore designed by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), as the inaugural winner of its Urban Habitat Award. The development was cited by the jury for breaking down the preconception of stand-alone icons, for creating a ‘topographical phenomenon’ and was hailed for creatively realizing the model of a ‘tower as a park.’ ...