Aselle Tasmagambetova: The Palace of Culture "Phosphorus" will become a new stage in the cultural life of Shymkent

Aselle Tasmagambetova: The Palace of Culture "Phosphorus" will become a new stage in the cultural life of Shymkent

The day before, the akimat of Shymkent announced the start of a project to demolish the famous building of the Palace of Culture "Phosphorus" and erect a new Palace of Culture in its place. Aselle Tasmagambetova, president of the Saby Foundation, told how the appearance of the building will change and why its reconstruction will stop the migration of talented youth to neighboring Uzbekistan.

- Aselle Imangalievna, at the end of last year, the Palace of Culture "Phosphorus" was transferred to the municipal ownership of the city. At the same time, the akimat of Shymkent announced the signing of a memorandum of cooperation with your foundation. Was your participation in the large-scale reconstruction project of the Palace of Culture "Phosphorus" an initiative of the akimat of Shymkent?

- In 2002, my husband Kenes Rakishev and I founded the Saby Charitable Foundation. Over the 22 years of its activity, the foundation has successfully developed and launched a number of its own unique programs of national importance in the field of education, medicine, culture and support for socially vulnerable citizens. Our foundation builds social facilities from scratch that have no analogues in Kazakhstan, repairs and fully equips medical institutions with high-tech equipment, builds children's outdoor playground structures in cities and regions of the country. Thus, each of our projects is aimed at solving major social problems and successfully achieves its goals. Our foundation has extensive experience in the implementation of large and technically complex projects, and that is why the akimat of Shymkent entrusted us with the grandiose reconstruction and construction of a new Palace of Culture "Phosphorus". For us, this project is not only one of the largest, but also very responsible, because the Palace of Culture is a historically significant and beloved landmark of the citizens.

- Why did the Saby Foundation undertake the implementation of this project?

- The main principle of Saby's work is a systematic approach to charity. When preparing any project, our foundation conducts an in-depth analysis of its relevance. And then we study its multiplier effect for the relevant industry. As for Shymkent, our foundation is actively implementing many of its programs in this city. Of course, we could not but respond to the request of the city and hope that the new Palace of Culture "Phosphorus" will become a place of attraction for the most promising youth of Shymkent and bring the potential of the city to a new level.

 - What has already been done within the framework of the reconstruction project? What is being done now?

 - According to the implementation schedule of this project, a group of specialists consisting of leading architects and designers arrived in Shymkent with the aim of more detailed studying the breadth of the areas of interest of the local population, the expression of their desire for active activity, communication, creativity. Also, during the work, archival documents were studied, the most effective ways of implementing the project were considered, and after that a comparative analysis of various solutions was carried out. As a result, the concept of the future project was formed.  Currently, we are at the stage of completing the development of a design project and architectural and planning solutions for facades, as well as interior design of the building.

- What requirements does the city akimat impose on the reconstruction project that your foundation is implementing?

– The project of the Palace of Culture "Phosphorus" is more than just the construction of a building. The building should become a new milestone in the development of the entire city, a step forward, a place for the implementation of social, creative and entrepreneurial innovations. It will be a multidisciplinary center that will house industrial co-working spaces, workshops, exhibition spaces, a library, a business incubator, photo and video studios, a stylish cafe and a concert venue. Here it will be possible to hold various master classes, podium shows, poetry readings, organize theatrical performances, forums and festivals.

- How much can reconstruction work supposedly cost?

 - It is still difficult to estimate how much construction will cost at the moment. First, it is necessary to decide on the final design of the future Palace of Culture, formulate specific requests for its content, then develop design and estimate documentation that will give an answer to the main costs of construction and reconstruction. But, given the large area of ​​the building, which is about 12 thousand square meters, and the area of ​​improvement of the adjacent territory - about 12 hectares, a significant amount will be required to implement the project. According to preliminary data, about 10 billion tenge.

 - When is construction work scheduled to begin? How long might the project take to complete?

 - As a rule, all projects of the Saby Foundation are implemented quite quickly. We have a small team for each project, so decisions are made promptly. We plan to start work by the end of this year. However, there are many time-consuming procedural issues that cannot be ignored. This is, first of all, approval of the proposed concept at the level of the city leadership, then the development of design estimates and passing the project examination. All this, unfortunately, significantly complicates the practical implementation of any construction project. But, as soon as we receive all construction permits, I think that the project will take no more than 1.5 years.

- Is your task to preserve the old architecture of the building or are you planning to completely rebuild it?

 - This is one of the most important issues at the planning stage. On the one hand, the memory of "Phosphorus" is very strong among residents of Shymkent, even among young people. The townspeople retain a sense of nostalgia for this Palace of Culture.  In addition, Soviet modernism is a recognized architectural style in design, and the project of the "Phosphorus" itself received many awards at the time. In this regard, we would like to make some reference to the historical appearance of the building. The second mandatory request that we must implement is an emphasis on national culture and, in particular, on local traditions and customs. But at the same time, the new building intends to become a center of attraction for creative industries, an educational and creative hub, and therefore a "fashionable" place for city residents. All this involves a lot of work on the appearance of the building and requires very careful study, which is what we are doing now.

 - What will the new Palace of Culture include? Will the concert hall be preserved?

 - We know that during the work of "Phosphorus" its concert hall, which could accommodate 2,000 people, was the main venue for large city concerts. In its importance and scale it was comparable to the Palace of the Republic in Almaty. No wonder the townspeople are very concerned about whether we will preserve it. We are very much listening to the requests of the local community and the restoration of the concert hall will definitely happen. But it will become not only a stylish concert venue, but also an art space where it will be possible to hold various performances, shoot mobile videos and commercials. To do this, sophisticated stage and equipment transformation systems are now being thought through.

- What other projects is being implemented by the Saby Charitable Foundation in Shymkent?

The foundation project Invataxi is working in Shymkent. In 2009, the Saby Foundation purchased 62 specialized vehicles for transporting wheelchair users. They were donated to disabled people's societies in 20 cities of the Republic of Kazakhstan for use by 43 thousand disabled people. The fund also purchased 19 special stair lifts and 14 sets of office equipment for Invataxi transport services. Since the beginning of 2014, the project "Decent Life for Disabled People" has been operating under the auspices of the state. Taking into account the great creative heritage of Shymkent in the field of classical Kazakh music, the city hosted one of the main qualifying stages of the republican competition of the Saby Foundation - "Dombyra Dastan". Over the past years, residents of Shymkent have also become finalists of the competition in support of young entrepreneurs "Build Your Own Business". And in 2023, the republican forum of young scientists "Shoqan Ecology" started, talented researchers from Shymkent also became holders of financial grants from our foundation.