2007-08
A New Kazakhstan
Since 2000, Kazakhstan has significantly emerged as a center of Eurasian free market systems. With an oil rich economy and nearly seventeen years of successful reforms under the leadership of President Nazarbayev, this country of fifteen million people stands at the edge of a major leap into global business leadership. As such, the rapid development of it’s largest city, Almaty, has given rise to new landscapes of diverse elements, mostly notably among them the Samal District located in the heart of the city.Through architecture, individuals and corporations alike, find identity in a world where money, borders, and cultures are rapidly changing people’s lives.
Site Organization
The site is zoned in two parts based on a rational split between Office use and Residential use, with circulation elements and the retail component as the functions that bridge these two zones.
To the north, occupying roughly 2/3rds of the site, the residential buildings are configured so as to respond to the streets surrounding the site, to the maximization of views, and to the creation of a rich spatial experience on the main site plaza. On the southern zone of the site, the Office program sits directly north of the Foster twin tower, creating a buffer between it and the residential zone. This building is set back from the site edges as an elegant sculptural volume, the connecting bridges that emerge from a 13 story high void.
Text and images from Neil M Denari Architects
