towers of the sun – is a 75.000m2 mixed-use high-rise building in the heart of Astana, Kazakhstan. Reaching the height of 115m over the river Ishim, the building is set to become a new home for residential, office, hotel and commercial functions, as well as a new pedestrian and bicycle connection of different river banks.

The ideas and symbolism of Kazakh culture and traditions are deeply intertwined in the concept of the project on every level, starting from the circular opening in the centre of the building symbolizing the Sun, Peace and Unity – a symbol of core importance in Kazakh culture, to the triangular elements in the structure and interiors, which represent a powerful personal mascot that can be usually found in the traditional jewellery and clothing.

The project celebrates near net-zero energy requirements by using the power of water stream in the river underneath. It creates new user-friendly connections on the street level between key parts of the city and becomes a new anchor point for business, life and recreation, further improving the life in the city of winds

location: astana (nur-sultan), kazakhstan
program: high-end housing, hotel, retail
area: 75.000m2 / 807.300ft2
client: bi group
project year: 2019
status: invited competition
images: omega render
project architect: vladimir konovalov
project manager: artem kupriianenko
team: andrii pavlov, oleksii fedorenko, pavel kalinin, sergey shelestyukovich, veronika volovik, vsevolod belyaev