Uzbekistan Presidential Library

2021, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

A world wider than 18 thousand worlds appeared before my eyes. The decorated sky of that world, seemed higher to me than the nine skies. Pearls of wisdom brighter than the stars themselves were made clear to me. There I encountered a rose garden, unentered and untouched by strangers, of roses brighter than the stars in the sky.

– Nizam-al-Din Ali-Shir Nava’I

Ali-Shir Nava’i was a relentless defender of the Chagatai language. Unlike those who conquered with the sword, he was a scholar who took hold of Central Asia with his pen and his works. The Uzbek Civilization brought forth the pearls of Central Asia; Semerkand and Buhara thanks to Nava’i and scholars like him.

His heterodox and unique perspective did not only protect Uzbek culture and language; it also gave us the courage and inspiration we needed to realize this project.

The design celebrates the country’s heritage while embracing its transition to a new era.

Studio Pines was commissioned to design to a new façade concept for the New Presidential Library for the Uzbekistan on a very crucial transition period for the country. The country opted for using Latin Alphabet as official alphabet in 2023 and the new Presidential Library will be a symbol for the new era of Uzbekistan; fusing the past, the present and the future into one monument dedicated to country’s intellectual accumulation.

Classical Uzbek and Timurid elements meet bold, contemporary design.

The design reinterprets the elements of classical Uzbek / Timurids architecture such as crown gates, arcades, patterns into the contemporary fusion. The result is both unique and familiar; a building that carries the heritage of the predecessors and yet maintains a bold outlook which could bridge the past to the present and -hopefully- to the future.