Astana Expo City | Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

Astana Expo City, the world’s next international exposition, is now under construction in Astana, Kazakhstan.
28 buildings and the Expo’s master plan were designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) around the designated theme, “Future Energy,” a concept that is aimed at finding ways to achieve qualitative changes in the energy sector, primarily for the development of alternative sources of energy and transportation.

Located south of Bayterek Tower and east of Nazarbayev University, Astana Expo City is positioned to become a significant new landmark for Astana. The development’s goal is to reduce the energy demand to the greatest extent possible by using both passive and active strategies. The architecture and master plan were designed by using site-specific indicators like solar and wind orientation, weather conditions, and the cultural context, that were determined from a series of studies with the goal of minimizing the site’s energy-use while maximizing its energy-harvesting potential and comfort levels.

Strategies incorporated into the building’s designs include high-performance glazing that will maximize solar heat gain in winter while providing shading in summer; energy piles that will reduce energy demand and exposed thermal mass that will provide temperature modulation within the buildings during both summer and winter; 100% of rainfall from a 100-year storm event will be managed on site; and 90% of waste generated on-site will be diverted from a landfill.

Astana Expo City’s exposition phase will run from June 10-September 10, 2017, while a secondary, post-exposition legacy phase will convert the site into an office and innovation park with additional residential developments that will attract international companies and entrepreneurs.

A key challenge was to design venues that could be easily converted into usable spaces such as museums, performing arts halls, office buildings, headquarters facilities, and educational facilities, after the three month exposition. It was important for the team to understand the larger issues surrounding international events, like Astana Expo City, as an integrated architectural, social, cultural, and sustainable contribution to Astana and not just as an island of buildings. The team realized that the complex is naturally a mixed-use neighborhood that could provide innovative places to live, work, and learn long after the exposition has ended.

When completed, the legacy development will be one of the most sustainably built in the world. The design calls for 100% of the Post-Expo non-potable water demand to be provided by the on-site water reclamation facility and 24% of the Post-Expo electrical demand to be met from on-site BIPV energy systems. As designed, the total Post-Expo grid energy demand is 49% less than an ASHRAE 90.1 2010 Baseline, while the office buildings will use 22%-40% less energy than ASHRAE 90.1:2010 Baseline. Overall grid energy reduction is 59%.

Other key areas that add to the efficient legacy transformation include developing Expo parking areas into residential neighborhoods; integrating exhibition buildings into a first-class office complex; orienting the site for dedicated pedestrian and bike lanes; and creating dozens of public transportation links to the rest of Astana.