The firm Zaha Hadid Architects has been announced as the designers, in collaboration with the engineers of Buro Happold, of a research facility named in honor of the 15th-century poet Alisher Navoi and to go up in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. It will incorporate the Navoi State Museum of Literature, a 400-seat auditorium, and a residential school for 200 students of Uzbek language, literature, and music.

The interiors and arched facades, crafted from local bricks, and and the alternation of courtyards recall the region’s vernacular construction. The curvilinear geometries and the composition of arches, echoing Uzbekistan’s traditional architecture, are designed as hollow structures with openings to capture wind and channel cooling ventilation. In windless conditions, these arched structures extract warm air through vents at the top of the arches. The exterior spaces present a sequence of landscapes terraces with open-air amphitheaters and pavilions for impromptu performances.