A pavilion celebrating the art of Uzbekistan
At the Palazzo Citterio during Milan Design Week 2026the When Apricots Blossom exhibition showcases Uzbekistan from street to courtyard to garden gazebo.
The project, initiated by the Art and Culture Development Foundation of Uzbekistan and curated by Kulapat Yantrasast, treats craftsmanship as a framework for architecture. The case remains constant in the Aral Sea region, where environmental change has reshaped both land and cultural practice, and where production remains closely linked to survival and adaptation.
The centerpiece of the installation is a yurt-inspired pavilion designed by WHY Architecture and made of fine mesh and translucent leather. Its open structure filters light during the day and glows at night, hosting workshops and discussions throughout Milan Design Week.
facade textiles extend the traditions of street craftsmanship | images © ACDF
Thresholds Across the City during Milan Design Week
The first intervention of When Apricots Blossom, Uzbekistan’s installation during Milan Design Week, is right on the facade. Long strips of woven fabrics and tassels descend from the upper windows, pulling the color down and shifting the scale of the building. The installation reads as a gentle extension of the interior to the exterior, with the threads catching light and air in a way that gives the surface a sense of movement without mechanical means.
This entry condition creates a consistent approach to the space, the exhibition uses textile, fiber and craft techniques to define thresholds. The language is derived from yurt decoration, yet the composition responds to the proportions of a Milanese palace, aligning traditional forms with a different urban context.
Patio seating uses fabric to define space through use and proximity
The yard as a social structure
Inside, the courtyard changes the pace. Low seating based on kurpatsa mattresses is loosely arranged so that the space can function based on occupancy rather than a fixed layout. Materials remain tangible and close at hand, with plush surfaces and layered fabrics enhancing the sense of contact between body and ground.
The offering of apricot sherbet folds the hospitality into the spatial sequence. It introduces a sensory layer that aligns with the focus of exposure on food, shelter, and clothing as parallel systems. These categories appear throughout the project, shaping how objects are placed and how visitors move between them.
a yurt-inspired pavilion by WHY Architecture forms a light structure that glows at night
Reed, Light and Inner Field
The main gallery of the Uzbekistan pavilion during Milan Design Week is defined by a field of vertical elements. Thin reed-like rods rise from the floor to form curved enclosures, creating rooms within the larger volume. The light is kept low and warm, giving the installation a dense atmosphere where the objects appear gradually and not all at once.
Within this environment, objects from the Aral School and related initiatives are placed on cylindrical plinths that echo the vertical rhythm of the space. The layout encourages slow traffic, with sight lines filtered through layers of material. The architecture here works through repetition and space, using simple elements to construct a continuous interior landscape.
an apricot branch sculpture reflects cycles of cultivation and memory
Bread, tools and construction as a design
One section focuses on bread as food and as an object of design. Traditional hand stamps, used to imprint dough with specific designs, are presented alongside new interpretations developed by international designers working with Uzbek artisans.
Objects sit between tool and object. Their forms remain connected to the use, yet each carries a distinct visual language shaped by choices of materials such as wood, ceramics, silk or felt. The project frames these collaborations as a continuation of practice rather than a departure from it, showing how design can evolve through direct engagement with craft.
reed-like structures organize the gallery into a continuous interior field
Memory and Material Presence
Meanwhile, a sculptural installation of apricot branches twists and gathers into a vertical form. The piece occupies a transitional space and introduces a different register of material expression. Its structure is derived from pruning residues, giving the work a direct connection to crop cycles.
Nearby, the film Where the Water Ends records the people of Karakalpakstan as they record memories tied to the disappearing sea. The film extends the exhibition beyond the gallery, connecting physical objects to lived experience and reinforcing the role of narrative in the wider architectural narrative.
