Residential town of oil workers – Zhilgorodok. A housing complex built during the Second World War in a bend of the Ural River two kilometers from the city of Guryev, now Atyrau. The planning structure of the town is simple and rational. The compositional axis of the plan is the wide and straight main street connecting the village with the plant – Auezov Avenue. The park of culture and recreation, located along the banks of the Urals, surrounding the village, forms a green protective strip from dry and dusty winds. The main street along five cross streets and the watershed divides the village into neighborhoods consisting of one- and two-story residential buildings and public buildings.
Since the construction of the oil refinery was paid for under the Lend-Lease program, American specialists were also constantly present at the construction of Zhilgorodok.

The peculiarities of local climatic conditions determine the widespread use of terraces, ivans, loggias, galleries that shade the living rooms of apartments inherent in the folk housing of Central Asia. The walls of residential buildings are built from gypsum boards, soil blocks, public buildings are made from brick and gypsum boards, and structures from local building materials are used. The main role in accelerating the pace of construction was played by a comprehensive typification of development, characterized by a variety of buildings.
Construction was carried out with the participation of prisoners and labor soldiers from among the repressed peoples, including Volga Germans, Crimean Tatars, Bulgarians, Greeks, and prisoners of war from Romania. In December 1943, for 311 civilian construction workers there were 3,687 prisoners and labor army members; in July 1944, 12 thousand prisoners, labor army members and prisoners of war were already working on construction. Most of the town’s builders lived in dugouts for 200 people each; there was a canteen for 2,000 people, which served the builders in shifts.





