Amazon cover image
Image from Amazon.com

Model city Pyongyang / Cristiano Bianchi, Kristina Drapic ; foreword by Pico Iyer ; in collaboration with Koryo Studio.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, c2019Description: 223 p. : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 19 x 22 cmISBN:
  • 9780262043335
  • 9780500343531
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 23 951.9305 B577m
Summary: Many "model" cities, both imagined and physical, have existed throughout history; from the ideal cities of the Renaissance, Urbino, Pienza and Ferrara, to modernist utopias, such as Brasilia or Chandigarh. North Korea's Pyongyang, however, is arguably unique. Entirely rebuilt following the Korean War (1950-53), the city was planned and fully implemented to model a single ideological vision - a guide for an entire state. As a result, the urban fabric of Pyongyang displays an extraordinary architectural cohesion and narrative, artfully captured in the pages of this book. In recent years, many of Pyongyang's buildings have been redeveloped to remove interior features or to render facades unrecognizable. From the city's monumental axes to its symbolic sports halls and experimental housing concepts, this timely book offers comprehensive visual access to Pyongyang's restricted buildings, which still preserve the DPRK's original vision for a city designed "for the people". Often kitsch, colourful and dramatic, Pyongyang's architecture can be reminiscent of the aesthetic of a Wes Anderson film, where it is difficult to distinguish between reality and theatre. Reflecting a culture that has carefully crafted its own narrative, the backdrop of each photograph has been replaced with a colour gradient, evoking the idealized pastel skies of the country's propaganda posters.
Tags from this library: No tags from this library for this title. Log in to add tags.
Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Vol info Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Books Books Library, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) Window on Korea Non-fiction 951.9305 B577m (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 2019 01 Available WOK000395
Total holds: 0

Many "model" cities, both imagined and physical, have existed throughout history; from the ideal cities of the Renaissance, Urbino, Pienza and Ferrara, to modernist utopias, such as Brasilia or Chandigarh. North Korea's Pyongyang, however, is arguably unique. Entirely rebuilt following the Korean War (1950-53), the city was planned and fully implemented to model a single ideological vision - a guide for an entire state. As a result, the urban fabric of Pyongyang displays an extraordinary architectural cohesion and narrative, artfully captured in the pages of this book. In recent years, many of Pyongyang's buildings have been redeveloped to remove interior features or to render facades unrecognizable. From the city's monumental axes to its symbolic sports halls and experimental housing concepts, this timely book offers comprehensive visual access to Pyongyang's restricted buildings, which still preserve the DPRK's original vision for a city designed "for the people". Often kitsch, colourful and dramatic, Pyongyang's architecture can be reminiscent of the aesthetic of a Wes Anderson film, where it is difficult to distinguish between reality and theatre. Reflecting a culture that has carefully crafted its own narrative, the backdrop of each photograph has been replaced with a colour gradient, evoking the idealized pastel skies of the country's propaganda posters.