Soviet Architecture In Dushanbe

The Soviets were running Tajikistan for about 70 years, from around the time of the Russian revolution until independence in the early 1990s. From baroque to brutalist designs, the Soviets built all sorts of things in Dushanbe and some of the old USSR style is still holding on.

The coolest Soviet building in Dushanbe, the round Borbad Hall. Great avocado and yellow concrete sculpture out front.

Put the great ones on a wall. At the writer's union, a spacial space is reserved for sculptures of some of the best Tajik writers. A park cable car station, as brutalist as it gets. Striking. Alas, closed.

Older buildings in Dushanbe have more of a baroque, rococo, maybe moderne style. The Tajik Institute of Art and Design. Nice clock tower.

Movie time, the Batah theater. A staircase at the old Soviet department store. Love the blingy balusters. A little touch of luxury when buying your rubber underpants.

Ahh, progress. The death march of American fast food, butting up against the grand National Academy of Sciences building. The Colonel beats the Tsar.

The Tashkent Aviation Worker's Palace

The Soviets liked to divide up neighborhoods by vocation and give the people what they wanted. Or at least build them what they needed. In the area of Tashkent that used to be a hub for aircraft building, the government built the area residents a nice community hall. The place could hold classes, social events, arts performances, rousing political meetings. Comrade, get together and rejoice!

After the fall of the Soviet Union, so went the fall of the Aviation Palace. The place is kind of closed, falling into disrepair.

Nice tile mosaic, nice ceiling woodwork. One of the lobby floors.

The main performance auditorium.

Another floor, another lobby area. Bringing the glass bling.

The caretaker. 

Sweet Sawara Town In Japan

If you're in Tokyo and have a sudden urge to see what life in the Edo period (1603-1867) looked like, just hop a train for Sawara town, only about an hour away. The fine folks of Sawara have restored and preserved a section of the city, creating a classic Ye Olde Edo Towne experience.

The historic section is centered on a meandering canal. Sawara prospered as a rice transport hub.

The Edo architecture.

Many structures are built in a horizontal wood siding pattern, left unfinished to darken with age.

Details. Absurdly intricate, embellished drain pipe work. A little pedestrian alley.

Another look at life along the canal.

Kota Bharu Landmarks

Time for an architectural checkoff. Municipal buildings, mosques, maybe a stadium, if there's time.

State government building. Go to any mid-tier city in Malaysia and there will be a set of buildings identical to this one. As if cities in Malaysia decided to go as a former communist bloc country for Halloween.

The central, historic mosque, looking a bit colonial. And clean.

Funky, circular, colorful atrium of the main local market. Dig it.

Quran holder on a pole and a couple of big gates, the symbol of the city. The other half of the bloc buildings, the police headquarters.

Candy-colored stadium.

The Curious Architecture Of Bandar Seri Begawan

Suave Sultan? Muslim Mashup? In Brunei's capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, the government architecture is a curious mix of traditional Islamic style with a hefty dose of fantasy sultan bling thrown in for impressive measure.

Municipal building, rich.

An example of older downtown architecture, hints of Moorish fantasy. Reviewing stand, trimmed for royalty.

What's being reviewed? The Sultan, of course.

More government bling and a fancy gate.

A fun mix of restrained mid-century, International style modern bones with royal adornment.

The Architecture Of Miri

Miri is a town in Borneo, based on fishing the bountiful South China Sea. Until oil and gas were found off its shores, causing the city's economics and architecture to change.

Classic Miri, water-based wooden houses.

Two more views of the old housing, looking a little disheveled (lived in?) and high up, to avoid monsoon flooding.

Moving forward in time, a classic building of concrete with a tin roof.

Boom time in oil and gas brings suburb living, complete with wacky, Jetson-like design touches.

The old and the new, coexisting. Fancy modern hotel looming over the old fishing village.

Architecture In George Town, Penang

George Town, Penang is a UNESCO World Heritage site for good reason, mostly for its great collection of iconic Chinese shophouses. There are other architectural gems in town to see, plenty of heritage examples from other periods, styles.

British-built Town Hall, a Baroque cupcake, was built in the 1880s.

Immediately needing more room for municipal offices, City Hall was built next door in 1903. Those two government buildings have been restored, at least the exteriors. Many other old structures need some TLC.

There's a mansion row along the coast, peppered with beautiful Asian Deco houses. Kind of the Newport of Penang.

Sometimes vintage buildings haven't been fortunate of care. Left to ruin, just not torn down. Saying, "We want to preserve this building but who's going to pay for it and why?" A fine example of Art Deco in George Town, a former gas station.

The future of Penang? Only this massive sea infill parcel knows. Whatever it is, it's coming...

Over-Exposed In Kaohsiung

Continuing a city series of blasting the backgrounds (hello Tokyo, hello Sapporo), here's a nice set of over-exposed images from Kaohsiung, Taiwan.