CROSS WORKS ANNOUNCED APPROVAL OF NEW TASHKENT MASTERPLAN, DISTRICT 1

The project involves a 25,000 hectare expansion of the existing city of Tashkent eastwards, on a site between the Chirchiq and Karasu Rivers, with the objective of housing an estimated 2.5 million people over the coming decades. District 1 of the ‘New Tashkent’ Masterplan (or ‘Yangi Toshkent’, which is the project’s name in Uzbekistan) has this month received approval from the government for the Detailed Masterplan proposals that have been produced over the last 12 months, following an international competition in early 2023. The head of state - President Mirziyoyev - also announced the country’s plans to build the new capital at a ceremony in Tashkent, earlier this year.

London based design & technology firm - Cross Works - won the competition last year against prominent international companies, and has been serving as the lead consultant on the mega-project since then. The firm has been spearheading the architectural & masterplanning efforts & the digital twin creation, whilst also overseeing a cross-disciplinary team of sub-consultants including landscape designers, engineers, economists, real estate advisors & many more, who have provided their expertise in the creation of a future-proofed and carefully considered masterplan that will provide the framework for the city’s anticipated growth for future generations.

NEW TASHKENT MASTERPLAN : ‘DISTRICT 1’ PLANS APPROVED

The approval of the first district of ‘New Tashkent’ marks a significant milestone in the city’s capacity to house a rapidly expanding population that’s forecast for Uzbekistan and Central Asia as a whole. The primary objective of the masterplanning efforts is to ensure that the city’s growth is carefully considered, designed and phased, thereby preserving the current city and the surrounding environment. The District 1 masterplan was unveiled by Davronjon Adilov (Head of the Directorate of New Tashkent) & Hakan Agca (lead designer of the city, and Cross Works founder) at the ‘Tashkent International Investment Forum - 2024’ in May of this year, which was attended by world leaders, investors and stakeholders including Uzbekistan’s President, Shavkat Mirziyoyev who had announced the government’s intention to begin construction on the new city, earlier in the year.

The development is led by the ‘Directorate of New Tashkent’ (or ‘Yangi Toshkent’) and the Ministry of Construction, whilst Cross Works is overseeing a cross-disciplinary consultant team that includes international firms such as Buro Happold, Gillespies, KMPG, BuroAtlas, Hartek Muhendislik, DOME+PARTNERS, SKAB, Synthesis, Udevs, CAMC Engineering, ATCHAIN and SNT Visual amongst others.

The new ‘twin city’ is designed to house approximately 2.5 million people on a 25,000 hectare site, with a first development phase of approximately 6,000 hectares. District 1 forms the majority of that initial phase of construction.  Ground works for the construction of the mega-project are already underway, and the current designs are progressing rapidly towards construction drawings. 

As part of its scope and commitment to safeguarding the project vision and masterplan from design through to construction, Cross Works has also been developing the Urban Design Guidelines and Architectural Guidelines for District 1, which are due for completion this year. The firm is also undertaking architectural design on some individual plots within the masterplan, alongside other internationally recognised architecture firms (who are to be announced in due course), as well as locally sourced architectural and design firms, all of whom will contribute to the new architectural language of the new city.

A MASTERPLAN OF MANY NEIGHBOURHOODS

The masterplan focusses on the creation of neighbourhoods (or ‘mahalla’ in Uzbek) with a mix of uses and residential typologies, in which new and sustainable communities can grow and thrive. It also looks to provide an abundance of open space for its inhabitants & visitors alike, with an extensive and continuous green space strategy making up 20% of the overall land take of the city, and a network of canals fed from the mountains to the north of the capital.

The masterplan is also centred around a healthy provision of community facilities (also known as ‘social infrastructure’) all within 5-10 minute walking distances of people’s homes, as well as supporting commercial and cultural uses, all of which have been meticulously calculated to ensure that the neighbourhoods have the requisite balance of day-to-day goods, services and facilities, which in turn will ensure a lesser reliance on private cars in the future, and a move towards more sustainable modes of transport. 

A NEW ‘CITY TWIN’ FOR A NEW ‘TWIN CITY’

Cross Works has created a ‘Digital Twin’ for the project (a data-rich digital replica of the masterplan on an online platform), which will stand to publicise the project and act as the database for all project information. It will be actively updated as the scheme evolves and moves onto site, and represents a step change in the way that large-scale projects are digital tracked, managed and shared with stakeholders, and indeed citizens. Hakan Agca states that, “Masterplans of this scale and significance can no longer afford to remain static; they must be dynamic & actively updated, and stand as a central tool to all designers and stakeholders to manage its evolution over time.” 

The twin has been built from the ground-up by the firm’s in-house software development team, to include the detailed plans, 2D / 3D urban analyses, interactive design guidelines, geolocated renders & animations, online immersive experiences, walk-throughs, and more.  A streamlined version of the Digital Twin which XW has completed will be made accesssible to the public in due course, and  more information about the project can be found on Cross Works website.

ABOUT CROSS WORKS

Cross Works (abbreviated / stylised as ‘XW’) is a cross-disciplinary design and technology firm, specialising in architecture, urban design and city planning, with expertise in formulating advanced technological solutions to complex design problems.

Based in London, the firm works predominantly internationally across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia, with ambitions to work further afield. Cross Works’ focus is on working on projects that have the most impact on shaping cities and communities in the future, either through design & planning at all scales & geographies, and / or through the development of tools and software to enable more efficient processes, particularly in the field of digital cartography / mapping, design management and more.

The founder of the firm is a chartered architect, city planner and technologist, whilst the team is made up of architects, urban designers, landscape designers, computational designers, UI / UX designers, GIS specialists, and software engineers, making the firm fully equipped to tackle design challenges of any type or scale.