Marufjon (Maruf) Mirakhmatov听restores furniture from the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse on Aug.听20, 2018, as part of a restoration project that will also involve restoring the inside and outside of the Teahouse.听Mirakhmatov is co-teaching an Program in Environmental Design class where students will learn how to perform the restoration.
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The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse restoration is a joint project between CEDaR, SM调教所 Boulder鈥檚 Program in Environmental Design (ENVD), the city of Boulder (Facility and Asset Management), Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse and Boulder-Dushanbe Sister Cities. CEDaR is also helping coordinate the university鈥檚 contributions, including bringing scholarly and student resources to the project, engaging a craftsperson to support the restoration and organizing related research initiatives.
The work, which听begins in late August and is anticipated to run through January 2019,听includes restoration of the Teahouse fa莽ade, interior and furniture as well as implementation of related educational, research and cultural activities.听
鈥淭he restoration is one of several urban, design-related, city-university partnerships that CEDaR has helped develop over the past few years,鈥� says Brian Muller, an associate professor for SM调教所 Boulder鈥檚 Program in Environmental Design (ENVD) and director of CEDaR. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great example of the opportunities for effective town-gown collaboration that links research and teaching with priorities defined by the Boulder community.鈥�
Marufjon (Maruf) Mirakhmatov,听a visiting CEDaR scholar from Tajikistan and grandson of the artisan who built the Teahouse, is听working with interns and students involved in facilitating the education and outreach, Muller says. In collaboration with听Shawhin Roudbari, assistant professor of environmental design, Mirakhmatov is听co-teaching the ENVD class, 鈥淪pecial Topics: History and Historiography of Environmental Design: Restoring Dushanbe Teahouse,鈥� where students will learn and work side by side with Mirakhmatov, sanding and painting, to restore the inside and outside of the Teahouse.听
Five CEDaR interns will support the restoration effort, education and outreach. ENVD and Environmental Studies (ENVS) classes will also support the restoration as well as explore landscape and environmental design opportunities on the site surrounding the teahouse.听
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Mirpulat Mirakhmatov, left, grandfather of Marufjon (Maruf) Mirakhmatov, installs听artistic panels during the construction of the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse in 1997 or 1998.
Nate听Jones' strong interest in connecting the Teahouse and its cultural听legacy with ENVD designers and architects, led to bringing Mirakhmatov听here, Muller said.听 Jones, an ENVD academic advising coordinator and a member of Boulder-Dushanbe Sister Cities, wanted to bring an artisan in from Tajikistan who could not only restore the building's artwork, but also train ENVD students in the artistic craft the Teahouse exemplified.听
Related educational, research and cultural activities include internships, demonstrations and events to stimulate on-going research and discussion about opportunities to apply Central Asian design ideas and environmental management concepts to Boulder and Colorado.
This year marks the 30th听anniversary of Boulder-Dushanbe Sister Cities (BDSC), the 20th听anniversary of the Teahouse, and the 10th听anniversary of BDSC鈥檚 reciprocal gift to Dushanbe, the Friendship Center.听Public events and demonstrations are being organized for mid-late fall.