Chorsu Penthouse

A 280 m² penthouse interior occupying the top floor of a Soviet-era apartment block near the Chorsu bazaar. The design blends minimalist Scandinavian spatial clarity with the warmth of Uzbek craft traditions — hand-woven suzani textiles, oiled walnut wood screens, and custom-cast brass fixtures produced by a Tashkent metalworker.

The existing apartment was a maze of small, dark rooms typical of 1970s panel construction. ANK removed all non-structural partitions to create a flowing open plan, with the living, dining, and kitchen areas united under a continuous 3.2 m ceiling. Privacy zones — the master suite, two children's bedrooms, and a study — are enclosed by floor-to-ceiling walnut screens with a geometric lattice pattern derived from traditional panjara motifs. The screens allow light and air to pass through while providing visual separation.

The kitchen is the centerpiece of the social spaces. A 4.8 m island in honed Gazgan marble (quarried 200 km south of Tashkent) serves as both a preparation surface and a casual dining bar. Above it, a cluster of hand-blown glass pendants by a Samarkand glassmaker cast warm, amber-toned light across the room.

Material choices throughout the apartment emphasize texture and tactility. Floors are wide-plank European oak with a matte oil finish. Walls are finished in mineral lime plaster, troweled to a smooth but slightly undulating surface that catches raking light beautifully. Bathroom surfaces use large-format basalt tile from the Chatkal mountains, bookmatched across the shower walls for visual drama.

The terrace, accessible from the living room through a 6 m sliding glass wall, is furnished as an outdoor living room with built-in concrete benches, a fire pit, and planters overflowing with ornamental grasses and lavender — creating a private rooftop garden with panoramic views across the old city to the snow-capped peaks beyond.