Uzbek vessel redesigned for an ethereal installation in Milan
Uzbekistan’s first national exhibition opens during Milan Design Week 2026 as an exploration of how people in the Aral Sea region adapt to their environment through food, shelter and clothing. Compiled When the apricots bloom, the show was hosted at Palazzo Citterio in Brera and curated WHY Architecture-founder of Kulapat Yantrasast.
While the display includes several different elements — an apricot branch sculpture, a lattice yurt structure, and a fabric installation covering the facade (see designboom’s coverage here) — the main exhibition is discovered inside the main gallery.
Here, an undulating field is formed by hundreds of thin reed-like elements arranged in various heights and densities. Together, they form a sculptural surface for displaying contemporary design objects drawn from traditional Uzbek bread-making practices. The effect is ethereal, as attractions break and reconnect and visitor movements slow down. THE dreamy The space reads as an airy and eerie landscape rather than a sequence of rooms.
When Apricots Bloom, installation view, Milan Design Week 2026. Image courtesy of ACDF
the importance of bread making in Uzbekistan
Within this environment, the Milan Design Week exhibition is created as an exploration of bread production across Uzbekistan. Non — a fluffy, circular bread with a decorative surface — has social and symbolic weight and is marked with tobacco seal before baking. Each imprint marks parentage and continuity, and links the bread to a specific maker and context.
traditionally, non it is treated as a sacred object, associated with life and prosperity and is present at special moments such as weddings, births and departures. Breaking bread with the hand is understood as an act of welcome and mutual respect, and is even used to seal agreements. The strict customs of never placing the bread face down, cutting it with a knife or wasting it emphasize its symbolic value as a gift from the earth.
The baking process is historically carried out in clay tandoor ovens. The generational practice is based on shared knowledge and regional identity, with different regions creating their own distinct stamped patterns.
baked bread for sale in Margilan market, Uzbekistan, April 2018. image via Wikimedia Commons
designers from all over the world learn from a local art
As part of When Apricots Blossom in Milan, twelve designers from around the world were invited to engage with this Uzbek bread-making tradition through a modern lens. Each developed a separate tray to showcase the bread along with a range of limited edition bread containers and stamps. The team of designers includes; Fernando Lapose, Glithero, Bethan Laura Woodand Kulapat Yantrasast.
As part of the process, they traveled to Karakalpakstan to work closely with wood carvers, tassel makers and other artisans, using local materials such as silk, felt, ceramics and reeds. The resulting pieces are based on the colors, textures and patterns of the region, reflecting how cultural practices continue to adapt over time.
Material choices vary, moving from carved wood to polished ceramic and cast glass, yet each object maintains a connection to function. Patterns remain legible. The edges show the construction pressure. Some pieces extend the geometry of traditional stamps, while others exaggerate the scale or thickness. Together, they describe a lineage rather than a hiatus, where contemporary work develops from existing techniques.
the surface of the dough is marked with a ‘chekich’ stamp before baking. image courtesy of ACDF
“Where the Water Ends” documents memory as it is spoken
A dubbed film was screened as part of the Milan exhibition Where the water endswhich follows residents of Karakalpakstan as they record memories linked to the disappearance of the Aral Sea. The camera stays close to gestures and voices and captures memories of fishing routes, shores and seasonal routines that no longer align with today’s landscape.
Within the installation, the film introduces a layer of time that sits alongside the objects. While bread stamps and tools carry continuity through repeated use, the film captures what has changed, emphasizing oral memory as a form of preservation. It extends the exhibition beyond material display, grounding spatial language in lived experience and enhancing how knowledge moves through both creation and narrative.
commissioned work by Raw Edges for ACDF, When Apricots Blossom, Milan Design Week 2026, image © ACDF
the yurt as a place of gathering and workshops
Towards the end of the series, the project extends into the courtyard where a yurt-inspired Garden Pavilion is built by Kulapat Yantrasast and his team at WHY Architecture to host workshops and discussions during Milan Design Week. The structure conveys the same logic seen in the gallery, as its latticework frame evokes traditional craftsmanship of the region.
The booth functions as a social device. Within it, activities take place, from holding sessions to conversations around craft and the Aral Sea region, allowing the exhibition to shift from exhibition to use. This moment reinforces the larger argument, where architecture develops from collective practice and remains connected to participation.
commissioned work by Raw Edges for ACDF, When Apricots Blossom, Milan Design Week 2026, image © ACDF
a sculpture of twisting apricot branches
Meanwhile, a sculptural installation of apricot branches twists and gathers into a vertical form. Apricot is one of Uzbekistan’s most important agricultural exports and is adapted to the harsh conditions of the Aral Sea region.
For this installation, titled A Thousand Voices, Tashkent artists Ruben Saakyan and Roman Stengauer worked with a single material: apricot branches collected during this year’s pruning season. Each year, gardeners cut the vertical shoots to guide the tree’s growth and support the next harvest. The project reframes this process as a gesture of care, suggesting that creative practice depends as much on ongoing maintenance and stewardship as it does on invention.
