Bloom Arch participated in the CAU Arch Summit 26 international architecture forum, which took place on May 15 and 16 in Tashkent at the Central Asian University venue. The summit brought together architects, urban planners, researchers, and representatives of international bureaus and organizations. The program featured Zaha Hadid Architects, CrossWorks, Mangera Yvars Architects, World Bank representatives, as well as Bjarke Ingels, the founder of BIG and one of the most influential figures in contemporary architecture. The forum program was dedicated to current topics in architecture, art, identity, and urban development. In the Identity of Uzbek Architecture block, Bloom Arch interpreted the mahalla as the urban planning code of Uzbekistan. In the presentation, we viewed the mahalla not as a decorative image or a historical form, but as a system that organizes urban life. The mahalla unites the house, courtyard, street, neighbors, local centers, and scenarios of human daily life. In this sense, Mahalla is not just the concept we usually think of, but can be an important source of principles for modern urbanism. Today, cities are growing rapidly, but often the human scale, pedestrian amenities, shade, local points of gravity, and the environment for natural communication are being lost. For this reason, we believe it is important not to copy old forms, but to reinterpret mahalla principles. For Bloom Arch, this topic is part of a professional exploration of what a modern Uzbek city can be like.
