Designs have been released by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) for a district and two towers measuring 272m and 80m set to form the economic and administrative nucleus of the planned Kazakhstan city of Alatau.
SOM describes the towers as a 276,800-sq-m “vertical district”, with the two towers containing office, residential, hospitality, retail and cultural areas. The design is inspired by the Trans-Ili Alatau, a 350km range of glaciers and valleys.
The taller tower will be southern Kazakhstan’s tallest.
The other will have a luxury hotel and branded flats. Both buildings will have integrated shading to reduce solar gain, with deep central atria and panoramic views.
A 58,000-sq-m three-level podium will house retail, cultural venues and event areas.
The surrounding Gateway District will have express rail and light rail corridors, flying electric vehicle take off and landing spaces, plus pedestrian and transit networks connected by boulevards, shaded streets and public plazas.
The development will use seismically resilient framing and damping systems to mitigate the country’s active seismic conditions.
The client is Alatau City Development Group alongside investors and government partners.
- Subscribe to our newsletter here to receive construction news and insights from around the world straight to your inbox
Further Reading:
