Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center
Foster + Partners · Astana, Kazakhstan · 2010
Khan Shatyr is an enormous cable-supported tensile enclosure that creates a year-round indoor urban environment in Astana’s severe continental climate. A central mast supports a translucent ETFE-coated roof spanning retail, leisure and landscaped public spaces, giving the complex the silhouette of a vast leaning tent. Foster + Partners conceived the building as both shopping center and climate-controlled civic destination rather than a conventional sealed mall. Opened in 2010, Khan Shatyr is a major experiment in lightweight long-span construction and one of the capital’s most recognizable post-independence landmarks.