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 | Sarah Zahradnik Architectural Guide Mexico City With contributions by Adlai Pulido and Inka Humann 135 × 245 mm, 192 pages 230 pictures, softcover ISBN 978-3-86922-374-2 EUR 28.00 January 2017. DOM publishers, Berlin |
Now available from DOM publishers:
Sarah Zahradnik
Architectural Guide Mexico City
Mexico City, the megalopolis that we know today, was once a small island on a lake at an altitude of over 2,000 meters. This is where the Aztecs founded Tenochtitlan, their capital, about 800 years ago. There is very little left now of the Aztec temples, palaces, and swimming gardens – a sophisticated system of dams and bridges that regulated the city’s water. Instead, today visitors will find an exuberant, vast metropolis with a unique architecture.
For the Architectural Guide Mexico City, the author Sarah Zahradnik faced the challenge of selecting and presenting 100 outstanding buildings. Geographically divided into four chapters – from the historical centre to the residential and business districts – Zahradnik presents the city’s buildings, determined by Aztec, Spanish, and contemporary Western culture.The integration of visual art into an architecture that combines colonial and modern influences is characteristic of Mexican architecture. Zahradnik explores the autonomous architecture of Mexico – barely known in the non-Spanish cultural world – and focuses on the buildings of contemporary local architects, without forgetting the prominent historical examples. An entire chapter is devoted to the campus of the prestigious National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Thanks to its extraordinary artistic detail and the innovative design, this large-scale project of over 2,000 buildings and 340,000 students has made it onto the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list – after the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan and the water gardens in Xochimilco.
Introductory texts covering the history and the development of the city, or the ancient remains of the Templo Mayor, provide in-depth background knowledge of the city. The array of 230 photographs, drawings and specified maps will take you on an exhaustive tour of the megalopolis, preparing you for an extended journey through the Mexico City.
More Latin American architecture can be explored with the architectural guides of Brazil, Havana, and Chile, also published by DOM publishers. The Architectural Guide Caracas is being prepared for autumn 2017.
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The Architectural Guides by DOM publishers are handy travel companions for readers interested in architecture and culture. Projects are carefully selected and researched to make each individual book a ready work of reference, while background information and attractive design inspire armchair travellers to imaginary journeys. In 2014, the series was awarded with the Iconic Award by the German Design Council. Further information: www.dom-publishers.com