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Peter Volgger / Stefan Graf (eds.)
Architecture in Asmara
Colonial Origin and Postcolonial Experiences
210 x 230 mm, 480 pages
160 images, Softcover
ISBN 978-3-86922-487-9 English
€ 28,00
September 2017. DOM publishers, Berlin

New from DOM publishers:

Peter Volgger / Stefan Graf (eds.)

Architecture in Asmara

Colonial Origin and Postcolonial Experiences

Asmara was designated as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in the summer of 2017 as the first site in Eritrea to join this list. Eritrea was an Italian colony from 1889 to 1941, and the urban landscape of the capital city, preserved almost in its entirety, was largely shaped during this time. It is an extraordinary example of modernist city planning in an African context. European architects who could not implement their projects in the capitals of Europe brought their visions to life in Eritrea. Many modernist buildings from the colonial era are legendary, such as the Fiat Tagliero building, a service station in the form of an aeroplane taking flight.

It wasn’t until the early 1990s that outsiders rediscovered Asmara’s extraordinary modernist architecture. The authors of Architecture in Asmara. Colonial Origin and Postcolonial Experiences offer an original analysis of the colonial city, providing a history not only of the physical and visible urban reality, but also of a second, invisible city as it exists only in the imagination. The colonial city becomes a fantastic conglomeration of cities where each one reflects the others as if in a kaleidoscope. The book highlights the richness with five captivating, thematic photo-essays on the people and the places in which they live. It moves us a little further along in our attempt to interpret Asmara in terms of contemporary theories. Scholars from a wide range of disciplines – architects and urban researchers, historians and philosophers, anthropologists and sociologists – show how colonial and postcolonial criticism has served as a platform for new, variegated readings of Asmara. They approach the city from a range of different angles, from the rise of Italian imperialism in Africa to the reception of the fascist urban planning, from investigations of the infrastructure and mobility to the history of migration, for which the city plays a large role. These explorations are supplemented by analyses of historical photographs as well as interviews with local residents, among others. The book also investigates the circumstances and realities in Asmara today in order to determine the lasting effects its colonial past has had on the city’s inhabitants.

 

 



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