THE GREAT RETURN

The Victory Museum is a landmark cultural destination located within a monumental memorial complex, offers a seamless journey through heritage, identity, and the rebirth of a historic region.

The museum sits beneath an iconic monument and opens through a dramatic circular plan where architecture, scenography, multimedia, and narrative flow blend into one coherent experience. The project demonstrates Simmetrico’s ability to transform national heritage into immersive contemporary storytelling, with highly curated content, state-of-the-art installations, and a refined architectural language.

The museum is divided into eight thematic sections, each celebrating a different dimension of the region’s cultural, historical, and social identity.

Across these spaces, visitors encounter:

Cultural Heritage & Artistic Traditions
Interactive books, digital media, handcrafted bas-reliefs, archival imagery, sound showers, and immersive projections present the region’s rich artistic legacy, music, craftsmanship, architecture, poetry, nature, and literature.

Landscapes & Architectural Legacy
Panoramic visual stories and digital installations highlight the natural beauty of the region and its historical architecture, illustrating centuries of cultural evolution and artistic excellence.

Human Experiences & Personal Narratives
Dedicated rooms reveal the voices and testimonies of individuals who shaped the region’s identity across generations.
Visitors explore contemporary interviews, personal stories, and multimedia documents that reflect the resilience and aspirations of families, artists, musicians, writers, and cultural figures.

Restoration, Reconstruction & Future Vision
A major section celebrates the region’s contemporary transformation through a forward-looking lens:

• kinetic central installation representing renewal and future generations
• LED-based immersive corridors
• interactive portals symbolizing Restoration, Reconstruction, Development
• physical scale models of new infrastructures, schools, airports, cultural landmarks
• detailed multimedia guides explaining ongoing regional development projects

This area expresses hope, vision, and the cultural renaissance of the region.

Celebration of Unity & National Identity
One of the museum’s signature artworks is a large sculptural installation inspired by the Khari-Bulbul flower, a symbol closely tied to the region’s heritage.
The blown-glass artwork, animated with light, reflections, and movement, creates an emotional and celebratory atmosphere, representing unity, rebirth, and collective resilience.

CREDITS

• Client: PMD-P / Heydar Aliyev Foundation
• Main contractor: Simmetrico
• Head of Project & Creative Director: Daniele Zambelli
• General Supervisor: Francesca Tirotti
• Finance Director: Roberta Valloggia
• Accountants: Anastasia Petrunin, Jennifer Barretto
• Legal Consultant: RPLT
• PMO Director: Giulia Guarisco
• Senior Project Manager – Special Installations: Gaia Dall’Omo
• Project Planning Engineers: Murad Pashayev, Shukur Guliyev
• Project Manager Assistant & Aconex Specialist: Abdullah Mohtisham

ARCHITECTURAL PROJECT
Concept & Final Design:

• Architectural Design: Simmetrico Architettura, Ideas Studio
• Structural Design: Ideas Studio
• Furniture Design: Ideas Studio
• MEP Design: Ideas Studio

EXHIBITION & EXPERIENCE PROJECT

• Concept, Experience Design & Storytelling: Simmetrico
• Final Design: Simmetrico, Ideas Studio
• Exhibition Technical Direction: Simmetrico
• Set-up Management: Simmetrico
• Coordination & Quality Control: Simmetrico
• Technical Direction: Simmetrico

DESIGN & CREATIVE TEAM

• Head of Architectural Team: Francesco Giordano
• Heads of Experience Design Team: Devis Gobbi, Gustavo Amorin, Matteo Pistolesi
• Drawing Quality Control & Coordination: Nancy Helou
• Technology Integration Lead: Filippo Nepote André
• Video Creative Director: Nicola Rossi
• Senior Art Director: Eleonora Valsecchi
• Graphic Designers: Nicola Neri, Elsa Cumar, Debora Murino, Riccardo Zampieri, Carlo Gazzi,  Alberto Magni, Fadi Al Shami, SHU!
• Exhibition Designers: Fabio Tasca, Enrico Tibaldo, Ramya Priyan Gunanathan
• 3D Sculpture Design: Ignazio Genco
• 3D File Assistants: Eduardo Bartali, Matteo Menichi
• Composer: Rocco Petruzzi
• Lighting Project: Luxive
• Light designers: Pantaleone Megna, Giovanni Ricciardi, Daniele Zambelli

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT TEAM

• Content Research & Supervision: Heydar Aliyev Foundation
• Content Director (Pre-Production Phase): Oznil Menemenlioglu
• Content Research and Development (Pre-Production Phase): Frankie Caradonna
• Content Director (Production Phase): Celeste Sergianno
• Content Manager: Margherita Nonis
• Preliminary Copywriting: SHU!
• Final Copywriting & Proofreading: May El Dahan

SET-UP & SPECIAL INSTALLATIONS TEAM

• Set-up Manager: Fidan Abdullazade
• Set-up Contractor: Interfiere
• Graphics Printing: Tomatis
• Gypsum Works Engineer: Nicola Bufalo
• Gypsum Works: Attia
• Special Decorations & Finishing: C Decorazioni
• Raised Floor manufacturer and provider: NESITE
• Mock-up Studio: Big Bang Studio

SPECIAL INSTALLATIONS & CRAFTSMANSHIP

• Glass Sculpture: De Majo Contract & Bespoke Srl
• Bas-reliefs Production: Affiliati by Matteo Peducci, Black Star, Poliart
• 3D Printing: Guazzini Srl
• Shusha Maquette Artists: Alberto Gandolfi, Ignazio Genco
• 3D Models Artist: Enrico Maria Pellegrini
• 3D Model of Zangilan Mosque: Karimov Zeynalabdin, Eldarov Rasul
• Interactive Books: Tomatis, Codina, Videosoft
• Artistic Sculpture “Sənsiz tənha qalmışdım / Left lonely without you”: Rovshan Hacizada
• Mechatronic Installations (Rotating Mirrors, Rotating Carillon): LEVA Engineering

MULTIMEDIA & AVL TEAM

• AVL Technical Director: Filippo Nepote Andrè
• AVL Engineering Consultants: Paolo Molino, Gino Passarella
• Software & Video Engineering: Videosoft
• AV & System Integrator: Armonica
• Audio System Design, immersive soundscape integration, onsite implementation and commissioning: Auditoria
• Video Editing, VFX & Postproduction: BonsaiNinja, StudioYET, NarimanFilm
• Karabakh Video Shooting: NarimanFilm
• Shooting Set: Baku Media Center
• Interaction Installation Database (44Days + New Openings): StudioBase2
• DMX Lighting Programmer: Giovanni Ricciardi
• Lighting Installation Supervisors: Jeyhun Jafarov, Eduard Mehdiyev
• Hologram Showcases: IAORA Technologies
• Touch Film Customisation: TouchRevolution
• Audio Equipment Providers: Vita Events, Unitech Digital Media Srl, NextGen Technologies, PROAV
• Technical Equipment & Custom Solutions Engineering: Unitech Digital Media Srl
• Panasonic Projectors Provider: Adeo Group
• Museum WebApp Consultant: EnjoyMuseum

SITE OPERATIONS TEAM

• HSE Officers: Ahmad Aliyev, Adil Mammadzada
• Site Manager & Procurement Manager: Khayal Aliyev
• Site Coordinator: Aghajavad Javadov
• Runner: Mehman Abdurahmanov

LOGISTICS TEAM

• Logistics Manager: Matteo Paparella
• Goods Logistics Managers: Tural Aliyev, Aghabay Aghayev
• On-ground Logistics Coordinator: Yashar Pashazade
• Goods Logistics Providers: Ella Logistics, OTIM, EFM Global Logistics, Globe Link
• Transfers services: TT Services