BOUKHARA: BRINGING NEW LIFE TO SAMANID PARK

Architecture

Landscape

News

In the heart of Bukhara’s UNESCO-listed historic centre, Wilmotte & Associés is working on the transformation of Samanid Park, a 20-hectare heritage landscape where history, nature and urban life meet.

Centred around the Ismail Samani Mausoleum, dating from the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries, the park holds a unique place in Bukhara’s history. Once a necropolis, it stands between the historic city and its contemporary urban extensions, offering an opportunity to reconnect heritage with everyday urban life.

Together with landscape architects Neveux Rouyer, Wilmotte & Associés is developing a redevelopment vision inspired by the tradition of Timurid gardens. The design reinterprets the chahar bagh, a four-part garden structure, placing the mausoleum at the heart of a landscape open to the city. Redesigned entrances, the transformation of the Talipoch Gate forecourt and a new promenade towards the central bazaar strengthen these urban connections.

Water, a defining element of Bukhara’s landscape, takes centre stage through the restoration of the Shakhrud Canal and traditional havuz water basins. Thematic gardens, an orchard, a rose garden and a public nursery introduce new uses, while climate-adapted planting strengthens biodiversity and visitor comfort.

Beyond the preservation of an exceptional heritage site, the ambition is clear: to make heritage part of everyday life, where the memory of the past meets the needs of the present.

With preliminary studies underway since 2025, the project reflects Wilmotte & Associés’ approach to historic landscapes: preserving their identity while allowing them to evolve.