Silkroad Museum
Uzbekistan
Uzbek Government
WILMOTTE & ASSOCIÉS ARCHITECTES
10,000 sqm
Creation of a SilkRoad Museum
Located in Samarkand, the Silk Road Museum is a bridge between past and present. This architectural work is a tribute to the historic caravanserais, oases of hospitality and trade that punctuated this mythical route. It is an invitation to explore how tradition and modernity merge in a space dedicated to history, art and dialogue between cultures.
The museum’s entrance façade is an interplay of bricks and moucharabiehs. More than just a doorway, it’s an invitation to travel back in time, where every detail, from the dancing light to the geometric designs, tells the story of the ancestral caravanserai
We are then transported to a modern caravanserai, whose brick patterns evoke the historic meeting places and trading posts along this mythical route.
At the centre of the building is a double-height space surrounded by massive, precision-crafted earthen concrete walls. Zenithal light streams in through the gaps in the moucharabiehs, recalling the open skylights that adorned the trading places of the time.
The interior space opens onto a majestic rotunda, reminiscent of the central courtyards where cultures and goods once mingled. The use of pure geometric forms and soothing lighting invites contemplation, in a space that honours the past while looking to the future.
The patio, an open space framed by brick walls and moucharabiehs, recreates the tranquil courtyards of caravanserais. Made from local adobe concrete, it becomes a modern manifestation of local tradition and pride, offering a serene space conducive to reflection.
This museum, at the crossroads of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary architecture, is an ode to the eternal spirit of the Silk Road, a crossroads of civilisations to be discovered and rediscovered.
