Uzbekistan National Pavilion investigates the current scientific and cultural relevance of a modernist scientific structure, the Heliocomplex “Sun”, built in 1987 near Tashkent.

The complex is one of only two structures worldwide equipped with a large solar furnace to study material behaviour at extreme temperatures. Initially conceived for space and military research, this furnace can reach temperatures close to 3,000 degrees Celsius (half of the sun’s temperature) extremely fast, excluding any material impurities.

A typical case of Cold War competition, the complex was developed after an analogous facility was built in Odeillo, France, in 1969. The site near Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital, was chosen due to the favourable climatic and geological conditions. It was one of the last major Soviet scientific projects completed before the dissolution of USSR.

The pavilion reflects on the ambivalent character of the complex. The combination of its gigantic scale, consistent with the bipolar logic of the Cold War, and particular historical context forced it to constantly reinvent its scope and reformulate the reason for its existence every time the social, economic, and political circumstances changed.

The exhibition translates this ambivalence into a dual narrative about the furnace: sustainable and unsustainable, modernist and archaic, didactic and secret, celebrative and utilitarian, specific and generic. Suspended in time and space, this architecture emanates its utopian aura over the surrounding landscape.

Rather than declaring the furnace’s redundancy as a flaw, the pavilion explores the potential of this cognitive crack, its meanings and relevance for science and beyond, asking what urgent questions of contemporaneity it could answer now. This approach would allow for the rethinking of the complex beyond the preservation impulse and to contextualise it within a variety of scientific and cultural agendas.

A series of furnace fragments inside the pavilion, either reconstructed with modifications or brought from Parkent and restored, reveal its function and suggest questions to be asked concerning the scientific, social, and cultural impact of technology and its capacity to change or adapt its meaning over time.

The Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) preserves, promotes and nurtures Uzbekistan’s heritage, arts and culture. Positioned at the forefront of Uzbekistan’s cultural development, ACDF is committed to fostering the cultural ecosystem of the country, driving the creative economy, and providing opportunities for practitioners on a local, regional and global stage. ACDF believes that culture and heritage are vital in shaping society, uniting communities, bridging generations, and facilitating cross- cultural conversations.

In Tashkent, ACDF has successfully led the fourth edition of the World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE) (2-4 October 2024) and spearheaded the inaugural Aral Culture Summit (4-6 April 2025) in Nukus, Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan’s participation in Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan (April – October 2025), the renovation of the Centre for Contemporary Art in Tashkent, the construction of the new State Museum of Arts designed by Tadao Ando, and the restoration and partial reconstruction of the Palace of the Grand Duke of Romanov. ACDF has also launched “Tashkent Modernism. XX/XXI”, an ongoing research project documenting and protecting the city’s modernist architecture, highlighted by two significant publications in collaboration with Rizzoli New York and Lars Müller Publishers. In Bukhara, ACDF is launching the first Bukhara Biennial in September 2025.

Gayane Umerova has been the commissioner for the Uzbekistan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale Arte and Architettura since 2021. Deputy Head of the Department of Social Development of the Presidential Administration and Chairperson of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF), Gayane Umerova is at the helm of building Uzbekistan’s cultural infrastructure. Her efforts are bringing the nation’s art, artists, and cultural heritage into the global spotlight.

Currently, she is overseeing the restoration and development of the Centre for Contemporary Art in Tashkent, poised to become a new cultural hub for the region, and is the commissioner of the 2025 Bukhara Biennial (5 September — 20 November 2025) and Uzbekistan’s participation in Expo 2025 Osaka among other significant projects. She is also driving the construction of the new State Museum of Arts designed by Tadao Ando. Committed to boosting Uzbekistan’s prominence on the international culture scene, Umerova serves as the Chairperson of the National Commission of Uzbekistan on UNESCO Affairs under the Cabinet of Ministers. Her public service commitment is evident in her dedication to creating opportunities for young people in Uzbekistan’s cultural sector and fostering a cultural economy that unites communities and generations.

GRACE is an international studio of architecture, urbanism, and research, based in Milan. It was founded by Ekaterina Golovatyuk and Giacomo Cantoni. Golovatyuk and Cantoni’s past work experience includes a long-term collaboration with OMA/AMO, focusing on cultural and research projects in Europe and Hong Kong. Preservation is a central theme of the studio’s work, with particular focus on 20th-century heritage.
As well as several individual projects in Central Asia, GRACE’s current collaboration with the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, Politecnico di Milano, and a group of local and international researchers to revise the legal framework and develop strategies to preserve 24 modernist buildings in Tashkent has led to the forming of a particular expertise and the establishment of a critical position on the subject, beyond the current ideological and market-driven paradigm. The accompanying catalogue acts as a complementary extension to the pavilion—offering an alternative means of exploring and reflecting on the furnace’s continued relevance, and deepening engagement with the themes and questions at the heart of the project.