Toward a Conservation Plan for Soviet Modernism in Tashkent: Questioning History to Image Future Prospects
Dr. Federica Deo, University of Parma / Politecnico di Milano
Public lecture
Vilnius University, Faculty of History, (Post)Authoritarian Landscapes Research Centre
The lecture took place on Monday, 4 March 2024, 5 pm, Room 214.
Moderator prof. dr. Marija Drėmaitė
On April 26, 1966, the capital of the former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan was struck by a dramatic earthquake. Nearly leveling the entire historic core of the “old city,” the earthquake marked a turning point in the urban history of the Uzbek capital. The response of urban planners to the effects of the catastrophe materialized in a General Plan that, taking into account the seismic nature of the region and the ongoing immigration processes, outlined what was to become the major capital of the Soviet Union in Central Asia. During the past few decades, Soviet architecture in Tashkent has faced significant risks. Many buildings constructed after the 1966 earthquake have been demolished, while others have been acquired by private owners and undergone renovations compromising their authenticity and integrity. As part of the Tashkent Modernism XX/XXI project, the research conducted by the team from Politecnico (Davide Del Curto, Andrea Gritti, Sofia Celli, Federica Deo) aims to develop a preservation plan for the Soviet Modernism heritage in Tashkent.
The lecture will trace the urban history of the capital in the 20th century and highlight the relationships between the post-earthquake plan, previous urban issues, and the significant buildings that now represent Tashkent’s Soviet heritage.
Speaker’s Short Biography:
Federica Deo is a lecturer in architectural history at the Università degli Studi di Parma. She earned her PhD in the History of Architecture from the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II (2019). Her doctoral thesis focused on the work of the architect Ilya Golosov, providing an analysis of the transition between the avant-garde period and Socialist Realism. She worked as a research fellow at the Politecnico di Milano, collaborating on the project “Tashkent Modernism XX/XXI” (2022-2023). Federica has also participated in several research projects related to the history of Italian contemporary architecture and contributed to the organization of several international conferences and exhibitions, including “Terragni e Golosov: Novocomum a Como, Club Zuev a Mosca. Avanguardie a confronto” (2019/2020, Archivio Terragni/MuAr, “A.V. Shchusev” State Museum), “Santiago Calatrava. Nella luce di Napoli” (2019, Museo di Capodimonte), and “Salerno Moderna. Le opere e i progetti di Michele De Angelis” (2020, Archivio di Stato di Salerno).
