Astana Towers, Kazakhstan
The proposed site for the 30,000 m2 Multi-use office complex is located on a major road connecting the historic old city centre, formerly Acmola, with the new city of Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan since 1997. This scheme emphasizes an inward focus and organises a large central atrium which unites the 2 towers. This concept stemmed from a study of the traditional nomadic housing used throughout Kazakhstan - the yurt. The structures are circular in plan and maintain a clean, open volume inside. In embracing this rigorous and pure geometry, there is an ambiguity created concerning the overall reading of the tower as two distinct entities or a single sculpted form. This duality is reinforced and exploited by the placement of stacked vertical gardens which are shared by either tower, and have a direct relation to the interior void. From the exterior, the tower becomes a fluid translation of the landscape - a perceptual deformation of the massive steppes which exist throughout the country. To accomplish this, the large mass of parking directly adjacent to the tower is covered by a rolling berm that wraps into the outermost envelope of the building. This second skin wraps up and engulfs the two buildings, serving not only to unify the towers but also provide a strong platform for the creation of a high efficiency building system. Interior air circulation and daylighting control would all be monitored through the plenum of the two skins creating optimal working environments for the people inside.
