Roman Bezjak
Tashkent
“Tashkent is the city with the most beautiful prefabricated buildings in the world”. The devastating earthquake of 1966 enabled the creation of this open-air museum of Soviet architecture. City planners were able to realize their vision of a new city as a symbol of Soviet modernity in Asia, while architects and building artists realized themselves in the decoration of the facades. In doing so, they combined constructional requirements with local traditions in a virtuoso manner. While after Uzbekistan’s independence numerous representative and government buildings were remodeled with marble or glass facades, the large housing estates are still preserved in their original condition.
