Pursuing both a personal and academic interest in Central
Asia, Ms. Krugmeier secured a research grant in 2010 to study the
vernacular urban form of residential districts in the ancient Silk Road city of
Samarkand, Uzbekistan. These districts, called mahallas, are characterized by densely-built courtyard homes organized in an
organic honeycomb along networks of narrow streets and blind alleys. UNESCO
recognizes Samarkand as a World Heritage Site and graciously sponsored her study
visa for field work in 2012 (although she has no official connection to the
organization).
The four-part, in-progress
study involves mapping several of Samarkand's mahallas and identifies the unique characteristics of their urban
form. Part I comprises a brief primer on urban form typologies to provide a
framework within which Samarkand’s structure can be presented. Part II outlines the Post-Timurid history of
the city plan. Part III illustrates the fundamental elements of mahallas: the pond, water channels, mosque, teahouse
and homes. Part IV presents maps and drawings showing the intricate mahalla
street network. Cultural and social norms fundamental to the formation of urban
fabric will also be explored.
Why Samarkand?
Ms. Krugmeier’s fascination with the unique fingerprint of cities was peaked in
1995 during an overland journey along 3,000 miles of the Silk Route from East
Turkestan (the Uyghur region of China) to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. She found the
mahallas
to be of equal interest to the grand architectural monuments of the region, but
unlike the latter, literature on the residential districts was virtually
non-existent in the West. Moreover, the systematic destruction of these
"substandard" living quarters by unsympathetic political entities underscores
the urgency of documentation. When the
opportunity arose to secure a research grant from the Prof. Halasz Trust (a former professor of Architecture at M.I.T.),
she crafted a project to return to Uzbekistan to realize this
aspiration.
Born and raised in the greater Los Angeles area, Ms.
Krugmeier studied Architecture at UC Berkeley.
Following her undergraduate degree and two years’ practice, she attended
the M.I.T. School of Architecture and Planning earning a Master of Architecture
in 1980. At M.I.T. she developed an interest in the relationship between
buildings and urban form, an essential theme of her career. After practicing in
Cambridge and San Francisco, she joined her current firm, BAR Architects in 1990
becoming a Principal in 1997. Supplementary to her architectural practice
designing urban, mixed-use developments, she has undertaken a research project
exploring the urban form of vernacular neighborhoods in Samarkand. Plans to
scale back practice coincide with the completion of the research publication in
2015. Ms Krugmeier is proficient in
Italian and has a second home in Milan, Italy, the city of her husband and his
extended family.
The event will take place at SRH on Sunday, February 23, at
1-3pm.
Silk Road House, 1944 University Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705
(between Milvia & Martin Luther King; enter by side door in passageway under
black Zabu Zabu awning); e-mail: silkroadhouse@yahoo.com; website: www.silkroadhouse.org; facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SilkRoadHouse; tel.: 510-981-0700.
Silk Road House events are sponsored by the Silkroad
Foundation.
