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Edda Schlager |
New from DOM publishers:
Edda Schlager
Architectural Guide Almaty
For many centuries, horse-riding tribes populated the steppes north of present-day Almaty and the green hills to the south, but the city itself – formerly known as "Alma-Ata" – is not even 180 years old. Its initial development was closely linked to the expansion of the Russian Empire. Today Almaty is Kazakhstan's largest metropolis, a vibrant milieu where the encounter between different cultures is also reflected in its architecture – and this is apparently so fascinating that the New York Times and CNN listed Almaty among their Top Travel Destinations for 2024 and 2025, respectively.
In the Architectural Guide Almaty, author Edda Schlager, who spent two decades in Almaty herself and reports on the transformation of the city and the country as a journalist for international media, presents more than 100 buildings from the past and present. It spans the now disappeared fortress that previously secured the expansion of the Tsarist Empire into Central Asia, through the buildings of Constructivism, the Stalin era, and Soviet Modernism, all the way to contemporary architecture. The city's history can be recognised in mosques and Orthodox cathedrals, in buildings of Soviet Neoclassicism and monumental mosaic art, in Brutalist architecture and brand-new skyscrapers, and one understands what made Almaty the cultural, scientific, and economic centre of Kazakhstan. About half of the book is devoted to critical essays and interviews with local actors, addressing topics such as the status of architects in contemporary Kazakhstan, the preservation of historic architecture, serial housing construction, and the role of Tiny Houses in Almaty. These contributions paint a broad and vibrant panorama of one of Central Asia's most fascinating metropolises.
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 All images: © Edda Schlager |
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. The series has received several awards which led to DOM publishers being presented with the Deutscher Verlagspreis (German Publisher Award) in 2020 and 2022. Further information at: dom-publishers.com