this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2025
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What is this thing?

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Since it spans the whole floor space there must be a massive cavity in there

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[–] kikutwo@lemmy.world 102 points 5 months ago (2 children)

HVAC, water, elevator machinery same as any tall building.

[–] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 25 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Except I've seen plenty that did with just a hut

I wonder if anyone has a picture of the empty space up top

[–] flamingo_pinyata@sopuli.xyz 44 points 5 months ago

I think it's a design thing. It's possible to do with just a hut, but the architect thought it would look better if the entire floor was level.

[–] kikutwo@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

Probably not as tall or no central air dunno

[–] Mvlad88@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago (1 children)

And the drying room for clothes

[–] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 5 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I thought that was usually in the basement. Haven't personally lived in one of these though

[–] Mvlad88@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The basement is for storing your winter supplies like jars of jam, pickled.. anything.... and the various alcoholic concoctions. Some have also a room for storing bikes and strollers.

[–] ObviouslyNotBanana@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

TBF in my building the laundry rooms are on the bottom. But we also have storage down there, and that doubles as a bomb shelter.

[–] lunarul@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

The basement has storage spaces.

[–] TachyonTele@lemm.ee 43 points 5 months ago (2 children)

That's where .ml stores all the comments they find offensive.

[–] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 11 points 5 months ago

Nah, not enough room.

[–] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 6 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Hanging above their flats like the sword of Damocles

[–] BradleyUffner@lemmy.world 39 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Infrastructure, like air handling, electric, elevator system, etc.

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yea, machine room is most likely. Elevator motors, hot water systems, etc

The building likely has walls that go 6-8ft up passed the actual roof. The HVAC units and such sit on the roof exposed to the elements. I've been on several roofs like that

[–] RedEyeFlightControl@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

That's just what the defenestrators want you to think

[–] Madison420@lemmy.world 25 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Others are correct, it's the infrastructure for the building that in warmer countries is generally in a basement. Most Russian buildings do not have basements unless they are government because of the cost in excavating and stabilizing it. Instead buildings especially in the very cold areas of Russia are on stilts and entry points are elevated above the average snowfall.

[–] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 3 points 5 months ago

I see. So does that mean it's a large windowless (ie dark) room that can be accessed from the central staircase? Have you ever been in/seen the entrance to it?

[–] zarathustra0@lemmy.world 23 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] Thorry84@feddit.nl 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Don't joke about nuclear war in 2025

[–] actionjbone@sh.itjust.works 15 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I've got something to put in you.

[–] Thorry84@feddit.nl 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)
[–] Twitches@lemm.ee 14 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Idk but I can tell you Moscow university was a tunnel / hallway behind those round windows. When I was there a quarter of them were broken and it was very exposed. Cold af

[–] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Ooh. Could you go behind those railings on the roof as well or were they just for show?

[–] Twitches@lemm.ee 6 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Probably, I was a kid exploring. The locked down areas weren't locked down. This building is epic! There's underground passages, and at the time I was there, dark abandoned underground Moria like spaces that went as far as the eye could see in the dark. It was in great disrepair, but, there was a full market on one of the basement levels. Basement floors the elevator didnt go. There was an attic space that was empty as far as the eye could see in the dark. Abandoned passages went between all the buildings on the university grounds. Ended up in one building from a passage where I could look out these glass doors to the outside, but, were locked. Was there in the mid 90s, no flashlight or cell phone so I explored as much as a kid dared to. Beautiful building, all sorts of hidden places.

[–] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 months ago

That must have been so enthralling

[–] ladicius@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago (2 children)

We have a lot of buildings in Northern Germany with the cellar departments on top (every flat comes with a small room to store stuff outside the flat). Saves heavily on expensive underground floors and has additional advantages, especially when the ground water is sitting very high.

[–] lurklurk@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago

Also gives a bit of buffer for insulation purposes

I think the word for it is "attic"

[–] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Hmm it did not occur to me that the architects might do that

[–] urquell@lemm.ee 10 points 5 months ago
[–] _cryptagion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 5 months ago

That's where the stasi hide to make sure you're appropriately loyal to the party.

[–] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 8 points 5 months ago

Where do you think the Stasi man sits all day with his headphones?

[–] DavidGarcia@feddit.nl 8 points 5 months ago

that's where they produce the brain washing rays and put the chemicals in the water that make you gay

[–] HappySkullsplitter@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

That's where they keep Lenin's real body

[–] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 months ago

I bet you'd find dead bodies up there in at least a few buildings lol

[–] EfreetSK@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

We don't talk about the top floor

[–] EfreetSK@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

On a serious note - my bet would be that the roof just has really tall "walls", something like this, just taller

You can actually see that apparently there's a ladder there so it's probably tall

[–] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 3 points 5 months ago

Ah good guess. You're right about the ladder bit

[–] ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.org 2 points 5 months ago

Some hire a bit of this space to telecoms to install the networking equipment for mobile network antennas on top