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When the House of Cinema in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, was demolished in 2017, it was an architectural awakening for the city. A large circular concrete building completed in 1982, the House of Cinema was an instant cultural and architectural landmark in the city, then part of the Soviet Union. Its demolition, to make way for a controversial commercial development project, spurred many in the city to worry about which landmark would fall next. That led the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation to launch a citywide research project to document endangered buildings. Most were built between the late 1960s and early 1980s when the Soviet Union sought to frame its ambitions through civic architecture. Many buildings from this time embraced modernism, with swooping facades, inventive structural forms, and artful mosaic panels adorning interiors and exteriors. As public buildings, their fates were at the whims of government leaders eager to develop the city into a 21st century economic powerhouse, which is how the House of Cinema was destroyed. [Photo: Karel Balas/Tashkent: A Modernist Capital, Rizzoli New York/courtesy of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation] To try to stop others from falling, the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation funded a team of international researchers, historians, and architects to undertake Tashkent Modernism XX/XXI, a research project documenting the city’s modernist structures, and rallying for their preservation. [Photo: Karel Balas/Tashkent: A Modernist Capital, Rizzoli New York/courtesy of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation] The concentration of modernist architecture is very high in Tashkent, but what truly sets it apart is the remarkable number of well-planned, innovative, and elegantly designed public buildings, says architect Ekaterina Golovatyuk, one of the experts involved in the project and a co-founder of Grace Studio, a Milan-based architecture, design, and urbanism firm. Underway since 2018, the research project has documented 24 key modernist sites across the city. Of those, 21 have secured national heritage site status, along with 154 mosaic panels, protecting them from demolition. [Cover Image: Rizzoli] These buildings, and the ongoing effort to save them, is the subject of a pair of new books, Tashkent: A Modernist Capital, published by Rizzoli New York, and Tashkent Modernism XX/XXI, published by Lars Müller Publishers. The books reveal Tashkent as an under appreciated hotbed of modernist architecture, and a historical turning point for both Soviet and post-Soviet Central Asia. At one point the fourth largest city in the Soviet Union, Tashkent was chosen in the 1950s as a showcase of the Soviet Orient, which resulted in an architectural boom. The city was meant to demonstrate how well socialism could adapt to a different cultural context, Golovatyuk says. This initiated a very interesting search for local identity, contended between architects from Tashkent and Moscow. The result was a transformation of traditional architectural elements within the framework of a modernist language. State Museum of History [Photo: Karel Balas/Tashkent: A Modernist Capital, Rizzoli New York/courtesy of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation] This building spree took on new urgency in 1966 when a massive earthquake damaged much of the city. The city’s recovery coincided with a Soviet Union-wide emphasis on prefabricated building and new forms of construction, leaving Tashkent with a wide variety of inventive and modern buildings. Palace of Peoples’ Friendship [Photo: Karel Balas/Tashkent: A Modernist Capital, Rizzoli New York/courtesy of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation] The Tashkent Modernism XX/XXI research project has put this legacy under a new spotlight, helping to save many buildings from demolition while also underscoring their significance as the city grows. Some of these buildings are also being seen in a broader context. Golovatyuk and Giacomo Cantoni, co-founder of Grace Studio, were recently named curators of Uzbekistan’s national pavilion at the upcoming Venice Architecture Biennale. Their exhibition will focus on one project included in the research project, a large-scale scientific complex outside Tashkent known as the Sun Heliocomplex. Dedicated to studying solar energy, it was ahead of its time in both design and intention. Big Solar Furnace [Photo: Karel Balas/Tashkent: A Modernist Capital, Rizzoli New York/courtesy of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation] Golovatyuk says this project and others that are being saved through the Tashkent Modernism XX/XXI research project are finding new relevance, especially within Uzbekistan, where contemporary architects are building on their heritage. I think the search for national identity restarted almost from scratch when Uzbekistan gained independence in 1991, says Golovatyuk, who first visited Tashkent in 2006. Many buildings have sought to establish continuity with the pre-Soviet past through ornamentation, probably in a more exuberant manner than during the modernist period. Big Solar Furnace [Photo: Karel Balas/Tashkent: A Modernist Capital, Rizzoli New York/courtesy of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation] An emerging generation of young architects is taking particular inspiration from the buildings being preserved through the Tashkent Modernism XX/XXI research project, creating what Golovatyuk calls a more sophisticated dialogue with both tradition and the modernist past. Palace of Peoples’ Friendship [Photo: Karel Balas/Tashkent: A Modernist Capital, Rizzoli New York/courtesy of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation] The effort to save and recognize these buildings is city-specific for Tashkent, where modernism is now a kind of calling card. But it’s also a fight that exists in cities around the world, such as Philadelphia, where an internationally renowned police headquarters building is losing a long preservation battle, and Boston, where the government center complex is a perennial demolition target. Palace of Culture of Aviators [Photo: Karel Balas/Tashkent: A Modernist Capital, Rizzoli New York/courtesy of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation] A few of these buildings faced at least some risk of transformation, but I believe it is to be expected. The city has been undergoing rapid growth for the past eight years, there is significant pressure on all real estate, Golovatyuk says. This kind of pressure is the fate of modernism not only in Tashkent, but worldwide. The research project’s success in securing protected status for Tashkent’s modernist buildings could be a playbook for other cities to follow.
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E-Commerce
Chinese aerospace giant Comac has unveiled its plans for the C949, a supersonic aircraft designed to fly 50% farther than the Concorde and produce sonic booms quieter than a hairdryer. Scheduled to debut in 2049coinciding with the centenary of the People’s Republic of Chinathe aircraft positions China to challenge US supersonic projects like NASA’s X-59 and Boom Supersonic’s Overture in a race to redefine global air travel. The most important thing here is that this shows supersonic is a raceand Chinas interested, says Blake Scholl, CEO and founder of Boom Supersonic. Advanced airplanes symbolize technological superiority, and its no accident that China wants that crown. In a scientific paper published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Acta Aeronautica Sinica, Comac engineers detailed a Mach 1.6 aircraft capable of flying 4,225 miles, surpassing the Concorde’s 2,796 miles. The key to its design is a reverse-camber fuselage. In aerodynamics, this term refers to an unconventional curvature design in the fuselage or wings that inverts traditional airfoil shapes (which usually turns down from front to back). For the Comac C949, this term specifically describes a concave midsectioncurving inward rather than outwardalong the aircrafts body. The team claims this curved midsection weakens shockwaves. This silhouette combines with a long needle-shaped nose that splits pressure pulses, and aerodynamic bulges near the engines to disperse exhaust turbulence. The airplane doesnt have a regular cockpit. [Image: Comac/South China Morning Post] Similar to the X-59 If the long dart shape looks familiar, it’s because you probably saw it before: NASA’s X-59 uses a very similar design. According to the research paper reported by the South China Morning Post, the team led by Comacs chief aerodynamicist Wu Dawei did simulations that demonstrate that the C949 aerodynamic features will reduce its sonic boom noise to just 83.9 perceived level decibels (PLdB), about the sound of a hairdryer. This is only 5% of the 105 PLdB noise generated by the Concorde. NASA’s aircraft will have a 75 PLdB boomcomparable to the hum of a dishwasherso the C949 will be slightly louder. Comac, like NASA with the X-59, believes that a quieter boom will make the case for removing the supersonic flight ban over land that’s been in place since 1971. The company says that the take-off noise will be within the international limits for take-off in airports near cities. The state-owned company, which aims to become the next Boeing or Airbus, knows that this is crucial for its commercial viability all around the world. Both the C949 and X-59 employ elongated noses and redesigned fuselages to fracture shockwaves, but the C949 adds artificial intelligence systems not found in NASA’s demonstrator. The paper claims that its artificial intelligence-powered fly-by-wire control system adjusts the aircraft’s surfaces 100 times per second to counteract instability at high speeds. The C949s twin turbofansthe jet engines that provide the thrustare adaptive-cycle, which means that they will alternate between two modes. One, when flying at a cruise altitude of 52,000-feet, is a fuel-efficient mode at 1.7 times the speed of sound (Mach 1.7). The other one, at lower altitudes, a low boom mode at Mach 1.6. Like the C949, the X-59 features a 30-meter needle-shaped nosenearly half its lengthto stretch and disperse shockwaves, while its engine is positioned atop the fuselage to direct noise upward. It’s all about the geometry, Lockheed X-59 program director Dave Richardson told me in an interview. There’s no exotic technology, just a meticulous way to turn a bang into a dull thud. Lockheed has envisioned that, using its aerodynamics, a 44-passenger commercial aircraft would be 61 meters long. Richardson acknowledges there will be obstacles: Scaling [the X-59] requires engines that can sustain Mach 1.8 without afterburnersa challenge, but not impossible. The Chinese engineers will have to develop a new engine too, just like Boom Supersonic. NASA’s Quesst prototype uses a virtual cockpit system that uses HD cameras to project the frontal outside view on internal screens that traditional pilot’s glass cockpit. This eliminates protuberances from the fuselage that would amplify the sonic boom sound. While Comac hasnt disclosed if the C949 will feature a full digital cockpit, its the only possible design option. Overture will also use one, like the Boom Supersonic XB-1, the prototype that served Scholl and his team to test their design ideas for Overture and their idea of boom-less supersonic flight. The Overture avoids these extreme aerodynamic shapes, leveraging an atmospheric phenomenon called Mach cutoff. At 18,000 meters, its boomless cruise technique uses temperature and wind gradients to bend shockwaves upward, preventing them from reaching the ground. The sonic boom occurs but never reaches the ground. Not even as a dull thud, like the C949 and X-59. The company demonstrated this in two supersonic flights over the Mojave Desert, California, just a few months ago. Its not magic, just math, says Scholl, who aims to offer Mach 1.7 flights at business-class prices by 2029. We dont need new materials, just smarter engineering, he adds. Challenges and advantages According to Scholl, the X-59 and the C949 won’t be able to operate at current airports due to their size and shape, hindering their commercial adoption. The X-59 requires new airport infrastructureits too long for existing gates, tells me. Overture, by contrast, fits current airports, he says. Regardless, Comac faces considerable challenges. It’s a relative newcomer to commercial aviation. Its first airliner, which includes a first homegrown engine, the C919, entered service in 2023. The company lacks the certifiation experience or supply chain power of Boeing or Airbus. Still, its ambitious timeline includes delivering a wide-body airplane called the C929 (an equivalent to the 787 Dreamliner) by 2027; and an ultra-long haul, 400-seat airplane called the C939 (equivalent to Boeings 777-9) by 2039. Then it plans to launch the C949 in 2049. So many complex projects, all built from scratch, carry the risk of delays, especially with unproven engine technology, according to industry experts. But if any country can pull this off, it’s China. Beijing has developed a very mature aerospace industry. The country is manufacturing a completely new, homegrown Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon stealth fighter in large quantities. It is now testing two different new sixth-generation fighters, which broke cover months before the U.S. announced its future sixth-generation fighter, the F-47, for now just a 3D render. And, to top it all, Beijing is ahead in another key aerospace race: hypersonic flight. General Mark Milley, then chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, recognized this fact when the Pentagon detected a Chinese secret test that defied physics in 2021, qualifying it as close to a Sputnik moment, referring to the day the Soviet Union left the U.S. behind in the space race. China has the economic and technological power to make it happen, and state funding shields Comac from market pressures. The supersonic endgame Its a real danger, especially when the U.S. is abdicating leadership, warns Scholl. Look at Boeingthey havent launched a new plane in decades [Boeing’s last new commercial airliner was the Dreamliner, which was announced in 2003 and took off in 2009 for the first time] China aims to replicate their industrial success in aviation. Look at what happened with cars. Chinese cars take over in markets without any tariffs. That shift happened in 10 years, he says. China aims to replicate this in aviation. The C949 is feasible and fits into Chinese aerospace ambitions, but Comac still have to turn its idea into realityand from scratch. For now, NASA’s X-59 must demonstrate that its boom is acceptable to regulators. Boom Supersonic has shown that quiet supersonic flight is possible, but needs a new fuselage and new engines that balance speed and efficiency. Almost everything remains to be done, and the race has just begun. But Scholl warns: They have put a date on it. They have a model number. They are very serious. Theyll move as fast as engineering allows, without our regulatory red tape. Weve seen what happened in semiconductors when we lost leadership. We cant let that happen here, Scholl urges. And Wu and his team knows it, as they write in their paper: The winner will dictate 21st-century aviation. For now, all three contenders are rewriting the rules for this race, almost silently.
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E-Commerce
President Donald Trump has just expanded the social media surveillance system for immigrants. Starting in May, the United States will begin collecting the social media handles of all permanent resident applicants. That means anyone seeking a Green Cardincluding those already living in the United Statesmust sign up to be digitally surveilled by the government. Marco Rubio also reportedly demanded that diplomats scrutinize the social media accounts of student visa applicants, withholding approval from those who criticize the United States or Israel. This expansion is expected to have a chilling effect on the internet economy. Under government surveillance, current and future immigrants may shut down their online presences out of fear of retribution. Social media CEOsMark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, and othersstood at Trumps inauguration and donated to his Victory Fund. Will they continue to support him now that hes threatening their bottom line? Trumps moves against immigrants’ online freedom During Trumps first administration, the Department of Homeland Security began tracking the social media accounts of immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants. But the former president has now expanded that policy through an executive order titled Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats. Immigrants will now have to disclose their social media handles when applying for Green Cards, asylum, or any other immigration benefit. For those who have already entered the country, the executive order suggests that future forms will likely require social media disclosures as well. Most experts predict this policy will crush digital free speech. Even the Department of Homeland Security appears wary. It issued a 60-day call for public comment, inviting agency representatives and citizens to share concerns. Since the forum opened a month ago, it has received over 1,000 comments, calling the policy a gross violation of civil liberties, an unreasonable violation of privacy, and Orwellianism. One commenter wrote, Simply – Stay out of people’s lives who are here legally. Meanwhile, DHS Secretary Marco Rubio is intensifying scrutiny of student visa holders. Following Trumps executive order, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has begun detaining student protesters across the country. One such case involved Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts PhD candidate, who was apprehended on the street by plainclothes, masked officers. Now Rubio is demanding that diplomats inspect the social media pages of student visa activists. According to a cable reported by The New York Times, Rubio instructed that certain applications be sent to the fraud prevention unit for a mandatory social media check. This includes individuals suspected of having terrorist ties or sympathies, as well as anyone who held a student visa beginning on October 7, 2023the date of Hamass attack on Israel. Will Silicon Valley take note? There are nearly 13 million legal permanent residents in the U.S.13 million social media users who may quiet or delete their online presences due to the expansion of Trumps digital surveillance state. Thats not even counting the countless foreign nationals seeking student or travel visas who could do the same. Such behavior could significantly shrink the user bases of major social media platforms. And the CEOs of those companiesmany of whom supported Trumpmight start to feel the effects. Among those onstage at his inauguration were Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Sundar Pichai (Google), and Shou Zi Chew (TikTok). What happens when immigrant users stop turning to Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok out of fear? Zuckerberg, in particular, has recently leaned into the rights free speech rhetoric. In January, he cut Facebooks already limited fact-checking operations, claiming they were too politically biased and shut down opinions and shut out people with different ideas. It was a bold move in the name of online free expressionif youre aligned with the right ideology. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is using Zuckerbergs own platforms to surveil people with the “wrong” ideologies and deny them entry into the countryor worse. What will it take for these Big Tech CEOs to abandon their MAGA pipe dreams? For some financiers, it was tariffs. Maybe for them, itll be a direct hit to their customer base.
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