Nada Debs transforms abandoned Tashkent mosque into craft salon

Lebanese designer Nada Debs has converted the abandoned 18th-century Okhun Gozar Mosque in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, into a craft salon for contemporary objects. Commissioned by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, the project preserves the mosque's original cupolas and arches while introducing a pared-back palette of wood, plaster, terrazzo, and local Gazgan marble. Bespoke wooden cabinets fitted into arches display ceramics, embroidery, woodcarving, and jewellery. Debs emphasized cultural continuity, stating the space evokes the Silk Road spirit through material warmth and intricate shadows from wooden panjara screens. The renovation includes restored traditional plasterwork, muqarnas decoration, and a continuous datum line. Debs, a Dezeen Awards judge, previously collaborated with master craftsman Sirojiddin Rakhmatillaev on a modern tapchan seating design.