Khan Shatyry (‘Royal Marquee’ in Kazakh) has finally opened in Astana on the 70th birthday of Kazakhstan’s President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and on the 12th anniversary of the capital city itself.
Khan Shatyr – essentially a 150m-high tent enclosing an indoor city - has a 200m elliptical base covering 140,000 square meters. Underneath the tent, an area larger than ten football stadiums, is a massive indoor park, shopping and entertainment venue with squares and cobbled streets, cinemas, restaurants, a river (for boating), shopping centre, mini golf and indoor beach resort.
The roof is made of a unique transparent polymer material called ETFE (ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene) that allows daylight to enter the interiors while sheltering them from weather extremes - making it the perfect material to be used in severe climates (Astana reports temperatures of +40° C in Summer and -40° C in Winter). The ultimate aim of the building is to provide Astana with a range of civic, cultural and social amenities all year round, whatever the weather.
After the Palace of Peace & Reconciliation (a giant glass pyramid completed in 2006), Khan Shatyr is the second major project in Astana designed by architect Norman Foster (of Foster & Partners). UK engineers Buro Happold (led by Mike Cook) was charged with the challenging engineering aspects and the construction was entrusted to the Turkish company Sembol.
At the opening ceremony today (6 July), the popular Italian Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli gave a concert; guests included, the President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan and the President of Tajikistan, Emomalii Rahmon.
A theatrical piece titled ‘Nomads’ - underlining the rich culture of Kazakhstan- was performed at the opening, and a specially commissioned dance called ‘People of the Sun’ was also staged. The opening ceremony ended with the appearance of the ‘Golden Man’ (one of the symbols of modern Kazakhstan) at the summit of the tent and a lavish fireworks display.
Foster & Partners have two other projects planned for Astana: Central Markets (formerly called Abu Dhabi Plaza) will be a mixed-use development, located near the Presidential Palace, comprising a retail podium, integrated plaza, residential apartments, offices, hotels - and Indoor City, which will be another mixed use building about 2km in circumference, twice the size of London’s Millennium Dome/ The O2 structure.
Italy's Manfredi Nicoletti and Japan's Kisho Kurokawa have also designed significant buildings in Astana, and the 103-year-old Oscar Niemeyer – responsible for the city of Brasília, and the UN HQ in New York - has expressed interest in contributing a building to the ever growing capital.
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