The Art and Culture Development Foundation has presented a project for the reconstruction of the Republican Children's Library. The renovation of the building built in the XIX century and the creation of a new educational and cultural institution in it became possible due to the work of the Cultural Patronage Development Foundation in Uzbekistan.
The involvement of patrons in the preservation, protection, and use of cultural heritage objects is stipulated by the law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On patronage". The law initiated and developed by the Foundation regulates patronage activities to support cultural and artistic figures, young talents, as well as encouraging the participation of individuals and legal entities in the development of culture and art in Uzbekistan. In addition, the law provides for the provision of a number of benefits and preferences to patrons, as well as measures for their non-material incentives.
The reconstruction project was developed by the architectural bureau Ludi Architects (Saint Petersburg), which specializes in working with libraries and book collections. According to the architects' idea, the reconstruction will minimally affect the remaining interior elements and layout. The reconstruction will be a kind of symbiosis of the historical appearance of the building with modern design solutions. The authors will keep the spirit of the time and add relevant ideas to it for greater versatility.
In addition to open collections, the library will have co-working spaces for children from 0 to 16 years old, laboratories, and a studio for working with digital content. The complex will also have a spacious transformable hall for lectures and masterclasses. The area adjacent to the building will become a public space. The project involves foreign technologists for children's libraries, who will bring the structure of the institution to international standards. They will set up the work of foundations, control systems, and search for publications, which number more than 200,000 copies – this is the largest collection of children's books in the region. The library will also meet all the requirements of inclusivity.
The educational and entertainment program will be focused on creating conditions for the independent formation of the child's personality, the ability to create their own projects, and the development of abilities for independent learning and research. They will be built on the STREAM technology, which is characterized by such project topics as the use of science, innovation and modern technologies in the arts will allow you to prepare a new generation of highly specialized personnel that are in high demand today.
Reconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by March 2021.
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The building of the Republican Children's Library, a vivid example of the so-called "Turkestan art Nouveau", has a rich history. Built in 1893 by the architect I. A. Markevich, the building at the beginning of the XX century belonged to Bukharian Jews – the Vadyaev brothers – rich cotton producers from Kokand, who once owned the legendary hotel "Metropol" in Moscow. After that, it housed the Tashkent City Duma and the Public Assembly, and the residential part turned into a children's library.
The architectural bureau Ludi Architects was founded in 2005. The activity of the bureau extends to architectural design, research in the field of organization of space, territories, and buildings of cultural and business objects. During its existence, the company has developed and implemented a number of projects related to the complex improvement of city territories and objects, public spaces, and interiors, organization of museums and exhibitions. The company was included in the TOP-10 best young architectural bureaus according to the magazine "Project Russia".
