Mahalla – The Survey offers a scientific investigation and an artistic statement which aims at a critical reading and a tentative exploration of a fascinating Uzbek cultural heritage: the
mahalla (luxury box set including numerous documents, a 7" vinyl record by
Carlos Casas and exclusive art prints by Bas Princen).
Historically forged by family, ethnic and professional ties, the traditional mahalla is a neighbourhood which perpetuates an ancient form of "living together" in many variations across large parts of Asia. This survey of mahallas in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, was prompted by curiosity about the various low-rise / high-density architectural types in such neighbourhoods and the social structures in which they are rooted.
The Mahalla – The Survey box contains drone imagery, contemporary street views, redrawn cadastral maps, floor plans and sections, point cloud imagery, explanatory texts, sound by Carlos Casas and exclusive art prints by Bas Princen, all combined in a preciously designed folder.
This special edition is published on the occasion of the first participation of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2021.
Emanuel Christ (born 1970 in Basel) and Christoph Gantenbein (born 1971 in St.Gallen) are full professors of
architecture and design at ETH Zurich and the founding partners of the international practice Christ & Gantenbein. The academic studio cares for the essence of architectural form and previously edited the two monographs
Typology: Hong Kong, Rome, New York, Buenos Aires (2012) and
Typology: Paris, Delhi, São Paulo, Athens (2015) which are rich sourcebooks on building typology in eight metropolises.
