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Retreat Center «SHI KHAN»

Diana Kanbekova, Alsu Galina
Russia

For almost a decade, there has been a struggle to preserve the natural and cultural monuments of Bashkortostan – the mountains-Shikhans of Tora-tau, Kush-tau, Yurak-tau. These mountains are good sources of raw materials for industrial production.

But it's not just the natural uniqueness of these hills. Four Shikhans are the legs of the throne of the Bashkir people, one leg has already been “cut down” (Shikhan Shah-tau was destroyed in the middle of the twentieth century), but on the remaining three it will still stand, but the throne will not hold on two legs and “the Bashkirs will fall like a people.”

In 2020, protests were held in defense of the Kush-tau shikhan, when, in the shortest possible time, the news about the development of the mountain by a soda company gathered residents from all over the republic and even those who were outside the country, the whole world learned that the greatness of the Shikhans is significant and is under public protection.

SHI KHAN RETREAT is dedicated to strengthening ties between the indigenous people, the desire to unite the disparate clans of Bashkiria, as the fate of one mountain once united, and is also intended to become a reminder of how dependent a person is on nature, and how important it is to remember that we are on the planet just guests.

The site chosen for the design was a site near the old sanatorium, which is familiar to residents from all over the republic, it is located in a good place – the city, on a hill, from where picturesque views of the river open.

The basis of the project is a complex consisting of mountain buildings, where each performs its own functions, depending on the real features:
• settlements were once located on the mountains of Tora-tau and Kush-tau, so their images were used to create residential buildings;
• there is now a blue lake on the site of the destroyed Shah-tau, its image (a flat mountain) was used to create a public space – a pool with a font;
• Mount Yurak-tau is «responsible» for the route passing through various rooms (dark, oriented towards sensations), reminiscent of underground mines, this block is designed to «disconnect from reality» and «withdraw into oneself.»

All mountain buildings are connected by corridors, on the second floor there is a stylobate. Thus, from one point you can always get to another in several ways, each time creating new interesting routes.

The complex has several exits to the forest, each of them is unique: a wide staircase from the second floor, allowing you to enjoy the views without restrictions, next to it is an exit from a rectangular arch that allows you to make a “transition” to the natural environment, the farthest exit is also equipped with a staircase, this is the only platform three floors, allowing you to view nature in three stages: sky, forest, earth.

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