EnsemblesUnder 1 km away
Blue Domes Café
A cluster of turquoise domes on a central Tashkent boulevard, a café pavilion of 1968–1970 that became a symbol of the rebuilt Soviet city.
Zhemchug (Pearl) House
An experimental concrete apartment tower on Buyuk Turon street, finished in 1985 and known for its open shared courtyards stacked high above the street.
Ensembles1974–1985About 20 minutes to see
About the place
This residential tower was designed by architect Ofelia Aydinova as part of the search for earthquake-safe housing after the 1966 Tashkent earthquake, and was built between 1974 and 1985. Instead of ordinary corridors it has open communal floors, like courtyards in the air, that link flats on several levels.
Everyone in Tashkent calls it Zhemchug, "Pearl", after a jewellery shop that once occupied the ground floor. It is a home for its residents, so you look at it from the street; it is one of the best-known examples of the city's Soviet modernist architecture.
Why go
- Open communal floors that act as courtyards in the air
- Built as an earthquake-resistant experiment after 1966
- A landmark of Tashkent's Soviet modernist architecture
Sources (3)
Nearby
- Ensembles
Museums1 km away
Yunus Rajabiy House Museum
The Tashkent home of the composer and singer Yunus Rajabiy, opened as a museum in 1997, with his study, instruments and personal belongings.
Museums1 km away
State Museum of Applied Arts of Uzbekistan
A museum of Uzbek crafts in an early 20th-century house with carved plaster and painted wood interiors, showing suzani, ceramics, jewellery and textiles.
Museums1 km away
State Museum of Nature of Uzbekistan
Tashkent's natural history museum, descended from the Turkestan museum of 1876, with about 400,000 specimens including 300,000 insects.