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City 17: "Druzhba-1" (gm_construct building IRL)

Have you ever dreamed of walking through the legendary residential block project_building03.mdl (that very same house from gm_construct and the HL2 skybox)? Now you finally can.

A year and a half ago, our team tried to figure out this building, which is located in the “Druzhba-1” housing complex in Sofia. Back then, we managed to find a few photos from inside the apartments and even a small floor plan. Only a year later were we finally able not only to put together a complete layout based on 4 real estate ads, but also to recreate the building as a map.

The map was developed over about a month and a half, from July to August 2025. This is my second map. That map had plenty of flaws, but thanks to Romeevan, almost all of them were fixed – huge RESPECT to him! The map was built in Hammer++ and doesn’t require any additional addons, with only two custom textures included.

• The shell of an 11-story apartment block, constructed in 1977–1978 (the two neighboring buildings were actually built a bit earlier and were already standing by 1976, according to photos Panayot Bǎrnev’s and old maps of Sofia). At this stage, the balconies are not yet glazed, but the balcony borders are painted orange. Glazing is planned for future updates.
  
• (Almost) fully accessible 6th floor.
  
• Broken Bulgarian elevators (with doors).
  
• An entrance hall (but no staircase access yet).
  
• Two one-room, two two-room, and two three-room apartments. Inside you’ll find: 8 toilets, heating radiators and pipes, over 22 breakable windows, 6 kitchens (without props), 10 balconies, 6 hallways, and 12 rooms in total.
  
• A basic skybox (poorly made for now, will be improved later).
  
• AI-Nodes.
  
• Navmesh.

• Selective balcony glazing.
  
• Toggleable props.
  
• Regeneration of broken windows.
  
• Courtyard.
  
• Accessible rooftop (with an improved skybox viewable from it).
  
• Staircase and entrance hall.
  
• Remaining floors.
  
• Proper skybox.

Note: The map is in beta, so please report any bugs or issues you find!

Special thanks:

• Valve and Viktor Antonov – for Half-Life 2 and the iconic City 17 look.
  
• My friends (Romeevan, miman 2020, Veniamin, and Mihail) – for playtesting, moral support, and invaluable help (especially Romeevan, who basically rescued the project!).
  
• The Half-Life community veterans "R.A.K." – for nearly 15 years of support and love for the HL setting.
  
• Dark Interval Discord Community – for motivating feedback.
  
• "Visual Archive", "bulgarian.archive", "socbg", and Bulgarian local historians – for old photos of the blocks and maps of Sofia.
  
• Real estate sellers for interior photos of the apartments.

tags: map half life hl2 city17 c17 druzhba sofia bulgaria brutalism block urban dystopian apartments residential elevator balconies architecture sandbox