Tashkent's modernist architecture becomes UNESCO World Heritage
At its 48th session held in the Republic of Korea, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee designated ten modernist structures in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as a serial World Heritage site under the title "Tashkent Modernist Architecture. Modernity and Tradition in Central Asia." This marks the inaugural UNESCO acknowledgment of a Central Asian nation’s 20th-century architectural legacy. The buildings, erected from the 1970s to the early 1990s following the earthquake on April 26, 1966, include the Sun Institute of Material Science (1981-1987), the Central Exhibition Hall (1972/1974), and Chorsu Market. The nomination, spearheaded by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, commenced five years ago with the involvement of various partners, including GRACE and the Politecnico di Milano.
Key facts
- Ten modernist buildings in Tashkent inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage site
- First Central Asian country to receive UNESCO recognition for 20th-century architecture
- Buildings constructed between 1970s and early 1990s after 1966 earthquake
- Serial site includes Sun Institute of Material Science (Big Solar Furnace) built 1981-1987
- Nomination led by Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) since 2021
- Research project 'Tashkent Modernism XX/XXI' coordinated by GRACE studio
- Collaborators include Politecnico di Milano, Boris Chukhovich, Rem Koolhaas, Jean-Louis Cohen
- Uzbekistan now has 8 UNESCO World Heritage sites total
Entities
Artists
- Ekaterina Golovatyuk
- Giacomo Cantoni
- Boris Chukhovich
- Armin Linke
- Rem Koolhaas
- Jean-Louis Cohen
- Gayane Umerova
- Davide Del Curto
- Karel Balas
- Vladimir Beryozin
- Yevgeny Rozanov
- Vsevolod Shestopalov
- Rafael Khayrutdinov
- F Tursunov
- Iskander Abdulov
- Anatoly Nikiforov
- Genrikh Aleksandrovich
- Gennady Masyagin
- Vladimir Azimov
- Sabir Adylov
- Spartak Ziganshin
- Ophelia Aidinova
- Boris Klochkov
- Andrey Kosinsky
- S Sutyagin
Institutions
- UNESCO World Heritage Committee
- Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF)
- GRACE
- Politecnico di Milano
- Politecnico di Milano – Polo territoriale di Mantova
- Laboratorio Permanente
- Novaya Zemlya
- Lars Müller Publishers
- Biennale Architettura 2025
- Accademia delle arti
- Sun Institute of Material Science
- UNESCO
- Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation
- Grace
- Dezeen
Locations
- Tashkent
- Uzbekistan
- Parkent
- Republic of Korea
- Busan
- Milan
- Italy
- Mantua
- Venice
- Central Asia
- Odeillo
- French Pyrenees
- France
- Sidi Bel Abbas
- Algeria
- Moscow
- Russia
- Soviet Union