Aral: City of Revival
“Aral: City of Revival” — a concept for restoring the region: first the water, then the land, and only later the city. Karakalpakstan, IAUA diploma. SAD, 2006–2008.
About the project
A concept for a new city on the restored water of the Aral. The city is gathered around a bay: the residential quarters face the water, the business centre stands on the axis, and a continuous waterfront runs between them. The dense fabric takes up only a small part of the territory — the rest goes to water and to the planting that holds it. The concept received a third-degree diploma at the 21st International Review Competition for the best project of the year. International Association of Unions of Architects, Almaty, 2013.
- New city concept
- Concept design
- Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan)
- 2006–2008
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Sequence
The order of work is the reverse of the usual: first the water, then the land, and only then the city. Flooding and stabilising the soil come first, because nothing can be built on a shifting salt flat — a foundation will not hold and a tree will not take. That is why the project is measured in decades, and this is not a caveat but a condition of the task.
The waterfront and the centre
The whole public programme is brought to the water: the marina, the boulevard, the squares and the retail ground floors run in an unbroken line along the shore. The business quarter with its towers stands behind that line rather than on it — the waterfront stays with the city, not with the offices.
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Gallery
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