A Camden-based design firm has won a competition to expand Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, into an adjoining twin city equivalent covering 25,000 hectares, nearly a quarter of a billion square metres of development and a land mass the size of Birmingham.
Cross Works, founded only five years ago and with just under 20 staff, offers an innovative new service that brings software engineers and computational designers together with architects and urban designers to create an integrated design and technology offer to their private and public sector clients around the world.

It beat long-established, multi-national corporate firms in the global competition from the Uzbekistan government[1] to secure the contract for “Yangi Toshkent” – widely known as New Tashkent – and has been acting as lead consultant and overseeing a network of engineers, economists, architects and landscapers over the past two years. Flexible for many centuries into the future, the frameworks can then be taken forward by future generations of architects as the city develops.

The project itself is in anticipation of significant population projections for Tashkent, expected to grow from the existing population of three million – the largest city in central Asia – to nearly six million. Uzbekistan itself has seen consistent economic transformation with an average rate of GDP growth over five per cent annually since 2017, led by the rise in digital technologies, the services sector, and an abundance of natural resources.

The other four of the five ‘stans’ of Central Asia – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyztan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan – are also seeing rapid economic growth, with the opening of several trade links. This presents a huge, untapped opportunity for other UK SMEs hoping to expand their international trade journey.

The Department for Business and Trade is now helping Cross Works to leverage its Yangi Toshkent work and making introductions to representatives across the region. The firm recently travelled to Almaty and then to Tashkent to give keynote presentations on the subject of New Tashkent to an international delegation, hosted by the British Embassy.

Hakan Agca, Founder and Managing Director of Cross Works, said: “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to create a whole new city in a country with serious growth plans. It brings together two areas I am passionate about – technology and design – and I’m proud of what our firm has achieved in just five years. Around 95% of our projects are international, but the development of Tashkent has been the pinnacle of our efforts in terms of scale and ambition. We’re excited to explore other regions to further expand our portfolio across Central Asia and beyond”.

Focus has been on maintaining elements of the current city of Tashkent, including its characteristic wide boulevards, canals and characteristically verdant public realm, while creating new ideas that are focussed on future-proofing and long-term sustainability. For example, there will be 15-20 square metres of green space per person, ensuring each citizen has access to public green space within a five-minute walk.

Kenan Poleo, HM Trade Commissioner EECAN & HM Consul General Istanbul, said: “Cross Works is a prime example that you don’t need to be a large business to thrive on the international stage. The growing markets of Central Asia are open for business – from the built environment and energy through to services – and UK goods and expertise are in high demand. SMEs can take full advantage of that, and we’re here to help them do that via trade missions, introductions to new buyers and free workshops”.