German-Uzbek Conference on ‘Urban Growth Between Preservation and New Construction’ at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
How can sustainable growth be achieved whilst balancing the conflicting priorities of heritage conservation and new construction? The conference brings together Uzbek and German perspectives, fosters dialogue and lays the foundations for joint projects on cultural heritage and urban development.
Urban growth - caught between the conflicting demands of heritage conservation, the preservation of existing historic neighbourhoods and new construction - raises important questions that are of immense practical relevance to urban development in Central Asia and Europe.
The conference ‘Urban Growth Between Preservation and New Construction’ stems from an initiative by the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam and its Uzbek partners. The conference aims primarily to present and discuss Uzbek and German perspectives on issues relating to the protection of monuments and cultural heritage in growing urban environments.
The aim is to facilitate and promote the exchange of knowledge between educational institutions in both countries, as well as the exchange and development of new cooperation projects of mutual interest in the fields of integrated applied research, knowledge transfer and teaching for the coming years. The conference is part of the “East partnership - Interdisciplinary Approach to Monuments 2.0" project, led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Röder, within the East Partnership Programme funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
Specialist conference on Monday the 9th of November 2026
The focus is on the following topics:
- Interdisciplinary Approaches to Heritage 2.0 – Summer School 2025 – Results and Findings
- Keynote: Urban growth between heritage conservation and new development
- Uzbek and German perspectives on urban growth between heritage conservation and new development
- Reception
Networking conference with workshops on Tuesday the 10th of November 2026
Workshops will be offered on the following topics:
- Research and knowledge and university transfer topics of mutual interest, as well as degree programmes and their links to applied research and knowledge and technology transfer in the context of urban growth between heritage conservation and new development in Uzbekistan/Central Asia and Germany/Europe
- Development of integrated degree programmes and academic standards for joint international modules, dual degrees and joint degree programmes
- International dual degree programmes, as well as their legal and practical implications, in collaboration with interested companies and institutions
- Summary – Outlook
The full programme and information about the speakers will be published on this website shortly.
Partners
The partner universities of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam in Uzbekistan are:
- Tashkent University of Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Samarkand State University
- Samarkand State University of Architecture and Construction
- Bukhara State University
- Bukhara State Technical University
The specialist conference ‘Urban Growth Between Preservation and New Construction’ is funded by the DAAD’s Eastern Partnership project funding scheme and by third-party funding from the Erasmus+ Key Action 171 programme for cooperation with Uzbekistan.
09/11/2026, 8.30 am – 8.00 pm
Conference: “Urban Growth Between Preservation and New Construction”
Programme
08.30 am – 09.00 am
Registration and arrival
09.00 am – 09.30 am
Welcome address
- Prof Dr Eva Schmitt-Rodermund, President of University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
- Prof Dr Bakhrom Tulaganov, Vice-Chancellor of University of Architecture and Civil Engineering Tashkent
- H.E. Dilshod Akhatov, Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Federal Republic of Germany
- Opening of the conference, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Röder, Project Leader, ‘Interdisciplinary at the Monument 2.0’, University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
09.30 am – 10.30 am
An interdisciplinary approach to heritage: Presentation of the findings from a 2025 summer school in Samarkand, Tashkent and Bukhara
Students from University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
10.30 am – 11.00 am
Break
11.00 am – 12.30 pm
Lecture programme, Part 1: The development of historic cities, the role of mahallas in Bukhara and Samarkand, and perspectives on international collaboration in urban planning
Presentation
Prof. Dr. Michael Prytula Fachhochschule Potsdam
Prof. Dr. Marit Cremer, International University (IU)
11.15 – 11.30 am
Bukhara as a Beautiful Museum City: Problems and Solutions for the Preservation of Bukhara
Prof. Dr. Khamidov Obidjon Khafizovich
Rector, Bukhara State University
11.30 – 11.45 am
Urban Growth and Social Cohesion: Lessons from the Mahalla System
Ass. Prof. Djamilya Vafaeva Bakievna
Samarkand State University
11.45 – 12.00 am
Problems of Preservation of Historical Parts of the City in the Period of Modern Urban Development
Ass. Prof. Laziz Rahimov
Samarkand State University of Architecture and Construction
12.00 – 1.15 pm
Mahalla Architecture in Historic Bukhara: Balancing Heritage Preservation and Urban Growth
Ass. Prof. Madina Babayeva Shamsiddinovna
Bukhara State Technical University
1.15 – 1.30 pm
International Research Collaborations: Shared Questions, Challenges and Possible Working Models
Prof. Dr. Markus Tubbesing
University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
12.30 pm – 1.30 pm
Break
1.30 pm – 3.00 pm
Lecture programme, part 2: Urban Resilience, Heritage Preservation, and Sustainable Construction
Presentation
Prof. Dr. Jan Raue
1.45 – 2.00 pm
Urban Morphological Evolution of Tashkent and Sustainable Redesign of a Modernist Heritage Building within the Historic Urban Landscape
Prof. Dr. Dinara Nazarova
Tashkent University of Architecture and Civil Engineering
2:00 – 2:15 pm
How Can Historic Monuments Survive in a Modern City of Tomorrow
Prof. Dr. Steffen Laue
University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
2:15 – 2:30 pm
Issues of Monitoring the Technical Condition of Buildings in Ensuring Seismic Safety: Microseismic Diagnostics, Numerical Assessment and External-Frame Strengthening of Multi-Apartment Buildings in Tashkent
Prof. Dr. Asadulla Khotamov
Tashkent University of Architecture and Civil Engineering
2:30 – 2:45 pm
Crack Needling in Solid Clay Walls – the Current State of Research
Dipl.-Ing.Benedikt Füger and Prof. Dr. -Ing. Jörg Röder
University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
2.45 – 3.00 pm
Noise Emission Measurements for Improving the Living Environment: GIS-Based Mapping and Machine-Learning Prediction of Road Traffic Noise in Tashkent
Ass. Prof. Dr. Fitrat Abdikhalilov
Tashkent University of Architecture and Civil Engineering
3.00 pm – 3.30 pm
Break
3.30 pm – 4.30 pm
Keynote:
Towards a Typology of the Eurasian City:
Seismic Modernism and Urban Transformation in Tashkent
Prof. Dr. Philipp Meuser, PhD
Taking Tashkent as a paradigmatic case, Philipp Meuser examines Soviet Modernism not as an architectural legacy, but as a contested layer within a larger typology of the Eurasian city. The keynote traces how earthquake-driven reconstruction, Soviet mass housing, local architectural traditions and post-Soviet redevelopment have repeatedly rewritten the city – often through demolition, displacement and selective preservation. Moving beyond the traditional opposition between preservation and new construction, it asks who determines what is worth preserving, whose interests urban transformation serves and which histories are marginalised in the process. Tashkent thus becomes a lens through which to investigate the power structures, ideological ruptures, and unresolved contradictions that continue to shape cities across Eurasia.
4.30 pm – 4.45 pm
Climate Adaptation in Urban Systems
Prof Dr Michael Prytula
University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
4.45 pm – 5.00 pm
Sustainable Mobility: The Case of the MasMo Project for the Pilot Implementation of the "15-Minute City" Concept in a Mahalla
Dr-Ing Wulf Holger Arndt, "Mobility and Space’ Research Group at the Centre for Technology and Society (ZTG) of the Technical University of Berlin
5.00 pm
Wrap-up
6.00 pm
Reception
10/11/2026, 10.00 am – 4.30 pm
Network Conferece "Urban Growth Between Preservation and New Construction"
10.30 – 11.45 am
Workshop I: Digital Study / Opportunities for Collaboration
Presentation:
Prof. Dr. André Brendike
University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
Input I: Connecting Teaching Through Open Educational Resources (OER)
Thomas Alberti and Maximilian Hagehülsmann
University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
Input II: Digital Learning Project of Bukhara State University of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Prof. Dr. Sukhrob Abdullaev
Buchara State University
Discussion: Round-table discussion on the use of digital collaboration in relation to specific modules in Bachelor’s degree programmes in civil engineering
11.45 am – 1.00 pm
Workshop II: Dual Study Programmes in International Cooperation
Presentation:
Dr. Lucia Tyrallová
University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
Input I: Current state of the debate on dual study programmes in Uzbekistan
Prof. Dr. Bakhrom Tulaganov Rektor
Tashkent University of Architecture and Civil Engineering
Discussion: Discussion on the Design of a TAQU-FHP Pilot Project for a Dual Study Programme in Civil Engineering
1.00 – 2.00 pm
Lunch break
2.00 – 3.30 pm
Workshop Part III: Research Collaboration on the Future of Cities and Earthquake Safety
Presentation
Prof. Dr. Steffen Laue
University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
Input I: A Climate-Resilient City: The City of the Future – Growth, Climate Adaptation, Building Conservation, Infrastructure
Prof. Dr. Michael Prytula
University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
Input II: Earthquake resistance of existing buildings
Prof. Dr. André Brendike
University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
Discussion: Discussion on shared research interests and application formats
3.30 – 4.30 pm
Wrap-Up
Prof. Dr. Jörg Röder
Prof. Dr. Bakhrom Tulaganov
Registration & Contact
If you have any questions about the conference or registration, please email: conference@fh-potsdam.de. Places are limited.
