Description

Problem

In Uzbekistan, the last few years there is an active development, but the changing architectural appearance of cities causes mixed reactions. The public often criticizes new projects for lack of thought (in terms of landscaping, parking, accessibility of social facilities, etc.), uniform design, lack of originality, and lack of connection with the cultural and historical heritage of the country.

Young architects lack motivation to develop, study global trends, look for original approaches, use modern solutions and look at the issue of architecture more broadly than the customer does (for example, in terms of sustainable development and preserving national identity). In Uzbekistan there were no prestigious independent competitions in the field of architecture and interior design which would have allowed professionals to make themselves known. In addition, the country lacked a view from international experts who could identify the pros and cons of modern buildings, and thus influence future decisions of customers.

Task

To raise the status of the profession of architect in society. To stimulate the activity of architects, interior designers to create successful, valuable projects from the architectural point of view. To help young and experienced architects and interior designers of Uzbekistan to gain recognition.

Another task is to get the public involved in the professional vision of architecture - people who care about the appearance of the city.
To promote the use of advanced high-performance solutions in construction and design, to discover global trends for further use by local professionals.

Solution

In 2021 FE “KNAUF GIPS BUKHARA” LLC with the support of the Union of Architects of Uzbekistan held the second open review competition of architectural projects ME'MOR//2021. It was held for the first time in 2019.
The theme of the 2021 competition was “Sustainable Architecture - A Conscious Approach to Urban Planning”.

The goal was to popularize environmentally oriented architecture in Uzbekistan, promoting the ideas of minimizing the impact on the environment through the thoughtful use of materials, energy and ecosystem.

As part of the review competition encouraged talented architects and designers who adhere to the principles of environmental friendliness, energy conservation, prudent use of resources and minimal impact on the environment in their work.

Architects, architectural bureaus, studios and workshops, construction and design organizations, restorers, developers with licenses for the development of architectural and urban planning documentation, interior designers, landscape designers, students of universities and journalists were invited to participate.
The total prize fund amounted to 160 million soms (at the time of awarding 15 thousand dollars).

Competitive categories for 2021:
“Residential and Public Buildings and Structures”;
“Private Architecture”;
“Improvement of urban areas”;
“Best media content on architecture”.
“The best work of students of specialized universities”.

The number of participants was supplemented by students of specialized universities and journalists in comparison with 2019.

To judge ME'MOR FE “KNAUF GIPS BUHARA” LLC invites recognized local and foreign experts. In 2021 the judges included:

Boris Uborevich-Borovsky (Russia) - architect, chairman of the Moscow Architectural Society, member of the Union of Moscow Architects, founder of the studio ub.design, professor at the Moscow Architectural Institute, head of Workshop No. 7 at JSC “Mosproekt”, winner of prestigious exhibitions and festivals (“Arch Moscow”, “Zodchestvo”, “Golden Section”, INTERIA AWARDS).

Oleg Drozdov (Ukraine) - architect, founder of the architectural bureau "Drozdov and Partners" and the Kharkov School of Architecture, Grand Prix winner in the category "Commercial Interior" of the Ukrainian competition "Best Interior of the Year", curator of the architectural biennale "The Flood" (2005, Rotterdam) and the Moscow Biennale of Architecture (2012), expert of the European Union award in Contemporary Architecture.

Bart Goldhoorn (Netherlands) is an architect and urban planner, publisher of “PROJECT Russia” and “PROJECT International” magazines, curator of “Arch Moscow” and the Moscow Architecture Biennale since 2008, and chief architect of “Brusnika” company (Yekaterinburg) since 2017.

Pavel Ustinov (Israel) - architect, chief designer in one of the leading architectural bureaus of Israel Yitzhak Yashar in 1990-2010. He is the recipient of the Israel Contractors Association Award for the best residential complex layout (Meduragei Reisfeld's project won the Architectural “Oscar” in 2004), author of the first residential skyscrapers in Tel Aviv "W Tower" and "One Tower", chief designer in the firm Kika Braz (Tel Aviv).

Bakhtiyor Magdiyev (Uzbekistan) is an architect and urban planner, member of the International Academy of Architecture, head of the group for the design of master plans for urban development in Uzbekistan, winner of international architectural competitions.

Tatiana Savchenko-Shaginyan (Ukraine) is editor-in-chief of the interior design magazine ID Interior Design, PhD in cultural studies, member of the Union of Journalists of Ukraine, lecturer at the European School of Design (author's course "Media in the interior market. Media, design and architecture"), head of the women's group websites (Tochka, Ivona, TV, Food&Mood, Archidea, Smak, Kolobok), author of "Design in Film" project.

Natalia Fishman-Bekmambetova is the chairman of the jury, assistant to the President of Tatarstan, and a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. In different years she was coordinator of educational program at Institute for Media, Architecture and Design “Strelka”, development director of Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, adviser to the head of Culture Department in Moscow. The programme of public space development in the Republic of Tatarstan, which she supervised, received the prestigious Aga Khan International Prize for Architecture (the first time ever that Russia was one of the winners).

ME'MOR//2021 experts were:

Nikolai Lyzlov (Russia) - architect, professor at the Moscow Architectural Institute (Moscow Architectural Institute), vice president of the Union of Moscow Architects, recipient of the “Arch Moscow”, “Golden Section”, and “Zodchestvo” awards, and chairman of the expert council of the Second Architectural Review-Contest ME`MOR//2021.

Tadzhiev Asomiddin (Uzbekistan) - architect, Deputy Chairman of the Union of Architects of Uzbekistan, head of the department of material and technical assistance to cultural institutions of the Foundation for Culture and Arts Development under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Chief Architect of Tashkent in 2011-2016.

Sergey Tumanin - curator of the review competition, head of his own architectural studio, founder of the competition “ArchNovation”, corresponding member of the International Academy of Architecture in Moscow, multiple winner of the All-Russian competition “Zodchestvo”.

In 2021, the review competition acquired an educational component: for three months famous foreign architects gave interviews and conducted master classes in online format on current profile topics.

Interview:

Ukrainian architect Oleg Drozdov: "A bad city is one 
where the size of the parking lot and the size of the park are the same;
Tatiana Shahinyan, editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian edition of ID Interior Design: “Design and architecture, like any art, is not a national story”.
Russian architect Nikolai Lyzlov: “It is more important for an architect not to demolish a single building than to build one”;
Pavel Ustinov regarding sustainable architecture in Tel Aviv and the ME'MOR//2021 competition;

Master classes of:

Bart Goldhoorn (Netherlands): “Design and implementation of the new comprehensive development “Brusnika” in Yekaterinburg”;

David Dolidze (Georgia): “Integrating Modern Architecture into the Old City”;

Dilorom Isamukhamedova (Uzbekistan): “Landscape organization of the city as a factor of its sustainable development”;

Elena Gonzalez (Russia): “Townspeople as Customers - Formation of Public Terms of Reference”;

Boris Uborevich-Borovsky (Russia): “Principles of organizing residential space (microdistrict, block, house, apartment)”.

Results

There were 242 works submitted for the ME'MOR//2021 review competition (120 were against in 2019). The short list included 56 architectural and design projects, 9 student works and 2 journalistic materials. Winners were 8 projects, whose authors shared the prize fund of 160 million soms.

Media, specialized communities, Telegram-channels, social platforms of the organizers and specialized universities provided informational support.

The ongoing PR campaign helped attract the attention of social media users and was met with positive curiosity. There were 27 publications in social networks from bloggers and opinion leaders, who became a kind of ambassadors of the ME'MOR review competition. To attract their attention to the contest the team of organizers created for a number of bloggers and opinion leaders mural-portraits made of gypsum (product of FE “Knauf Gips Bukhara” LLC), which also provided a wave of publications.

Credits

Knauf marketing team:
Managing Director: Khilola Yakupova
Digital Creative manager: Andrey Turkin

PR agency: мaslov:тashkent
Account director: Barno Nazarzoda
Copywriter: Ekaterina Tsoy
Project manager: Julia Elmuradova

PR agency: Good Communication
Gulnаra Mansurova

Event agency: ADD Event
Aziza Arslanbekova

Branding agency: MA'NO Branding
Client Service: Elina Ibragimova, Yuliya Jukova 
Art-direction: Temur Sadi & Zokir Khalmatov 
Design: Temur Sadi, Zokir Khalmatov, Mansur Nabiev, Doniyor Isamitdinov, Murat Risbikov