Istikol

We were invited to take part in an invited design visioning competition for the regeneration of Navoi Park including the Istikol Palace of Arts concert hall, and a number of other cultural buildings in central Tashkent city.

Our vision was to use the redevelopment of the Istiklol Palace as catalyst for the development of a more extensive cultural district for Tashkent at Navoi Park.The proposal seeks to retain several disparate existing buildings and monuments within the site, introduce new ones and consolidate these to form an identifiable cultural destination by creating a new activated park and waterscape. The aim was to create a place that attracts visitors for a complete day of activities and relaxation rather than just a single visit to a concert. The Palace sits as the centrepiece of this new district.Its commanding presence on axis makes it visible and signals a new beginning for this area.

Key design principles:

• The design is inspired by the Uzbek Avant Garde dating from the 1920s and 30s and the principles of formal garden design pioneered by Le Nôtre.The former is highly influenced by Islam and representative art, it is expressionistic and heavily pattern based. The latter using the laws of perspective (anamorphosis abscondita) to establish a decelerated perspective and create and frame magnificent vistas.

• Replacing large, sterile areas of surface parking with re-naturalized parkland and moving parking into two subterranean parking structures below newly proposed commercial buildings.

• The plan is arranged based around a set of axes formed around the existing heritage buildings and overlays new ones that favour long vistas into and through the site and produce a series of surprise moments at key cross points.

• Water was introduced in the site by diverting and extending existing canals providing the opportunity to create ecological corridors, waterfront boulevards and new leisure activities.