Soviet Asia: Soviet Modernist Architecture in Central Asia
£19.00£23.70 (-20%)
Soviet Asia explores the Soviet modernist architecture of Central Asia. Italian photographers Roberto Conte and Stefano Perego crossed the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, documenting buildings constructed from the 1950s until the fall of the USSR. The resulting images showcase the majestic, largely unknown, modernist buildings of the region. Museums, housing complexes, universities, circuses, ritual palaces – all were constructed using a composite aesthetic. Influenced by Persian and Islamic architecture, pattern and mosaic motifs articulated a connection with Central Asia. Grey concrete slabs were juxtaposed with colourful tiling and rectilinear shapes broken by ornate curved forms: the brutal designs normally associated with Soviet-era architecture were reconstructed with Eastern characteristics.
Many of the buildings shown in Soviet Asia are recorded here for the first time, making this book an important document, as despite the recent revival of interest in Brutalist and Modernist architecture, a number of them remain under threat of demolition. The publication includes two contextual essays, one by Alessandro De Magistris (architect and History of Architecture professor, University of Milan, contributor to the book Vertical Moscow) and the other by Marco Buttino (Modern and Urban History professor, University of Turin, specializing in the history of social change in the USSR).
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by Aya
bought as a gift. friends was really happy
by Tony Hill
This book is a gem revealing some of the more interesting and lesser known Soviet Modernist buildings including rarely documented apartment blocks. Recommended.
by bruno michel
This book is of great interest to soviet architecture fans, as it shows the rather rare and unusual cross which took place between the standard “western” communist architectural trends of the forties to the eighties and the central asian / Persian / islamic influences. It is very interesting to see how the soviets used local architectural aesthetics (shapes and colours) and blended them with their ideological concepts. The book is full of interesting exemples of that, with good quality photos, and is of a format suited for these buildings.
by Roberto Salvatore Albert Biondo
Great little photography book. The images shot by Stefano Perego and Roberto Conte are excellent and both introduction and final essay are really informative. The quality of the book itself is great as well and it has a very nice feel in the hand. This would really make for a great compact coffee table book as well as being a great source of inspiration for aspiring architecture photographers.
by Amazon Customer
When compared to other books published by Fuel, this book is very light on substantive content. The only text explaining the context of construction in the Asian SSRs is at the introduction and the rest is a picture book.
The photography is excellent, with some beautiful and striking images of places Western viewers simply haven’t had the chance to see, but there is no context given around their construction, who designed them, etc.
It’s also of note that in 2022, there isn’t much in the book that you aren’t able to view for free on the social media of the photographers. This diminishes the value of the book in my opinion.
Overall, a good coffee table book
by A. Tarverdi
Wonderful book.
by harlandski
Great for concrete lovers. Covers all the Stans. If you’re not a concrete lover, why on earth are you buying this book?
by P R M
Dreary little book, with poor quality photos.