Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture to design Astana Expo 2017

News: Chicago firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture has seen off competition from Zaha Hadid, UNStudio, Snøhetta and more to land the design commission for the World Expo 2017 exhibition in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Smith and Gill, who are currently also working on construction of the world’s tallest skyscraper, will masterplan a 173-hectare site in Kazakhstan’s capital. It will include a 25-hectare exhibition centre to host the world fair, alongside housing, schools, healthcare facilities, shopping centres and parks.

A spherical Kazakhstan Pavilion will form the centre of the exhibition, surrounded by International, Theme and Corporate Pavilions. Once the exhibition is over, everything inside the new buildings could be either dismantled or adapted to accommodate new functions, meaning no demolition would be required.

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture to design Astana Expo 2017

Jeremy Rifkin, chairman of the technical committee of the competition, said the winning scheme is “the most practical in terms of both sustainable development and architectural and artistic design”.

Bearing the title Future Energy, the Astana Expo 2017 will be centred around the promotion of sustainable energy sources and technologies, so all the energy consumed by visitors to the exhibition will be generated from renewable sources including solar panels and wind turbines.

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture was one of 45 practices shortlisted to masterplan the site, including Coop Himmelblau, Mecanoo, Safdie Architects and Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas.

Following on from Milan’s Expo taking place next year, the 2017 exhibition be hosted for three months during the summer of 2017 and will feature pavilions from over 100 participating countries. The most recent Expos held were the Yeosu Expo 2012 in South Korea and the Shanghai Expo 2010, which featured Thomas Heatherwick’s Seed Cathedral.

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to design Astana Expo 2017
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ImagineHouse by A.Masow Design Studio

A concrete house designed to balance over the edge of a hillside in Kazakhstan is the latest addition to our series of stories featuring photo-realistic renderings (+ slideshow).

ImagineHouse by A. Masow Design Studio

Named ImagineHouse, the one-room residence is designed by A.Masow Design Studio for a woodland area located 15 kilometres outside of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city.

“The customer required a home that will be isolated from the noise, dirty air and bustle of the city,” explained architect Almasov Aibek.

ImagineHouse by A. Masow Design Studio

Clear glass walls will surround the building, sandwiched between a pair of thick concrete slabs for the floor and roof. Wooden louvres positioned over the glass will offer shading and some privacy.

ImagineHouse by A. Masow Design Studio

Solar panels will be fitted to the roof to provide electricity, while rainwater will be collected and stored beneath the house so that it can be purified and recycled.

ImagineHouse by A. Masow Design Studio

Almasov Aibek modelled the building in 3ds Max during the design process, then used Adobe Photoshop to create the life-like presentation images. “I mentally lived in this project for several days,” he told Dezeen.

Other projects we’ve published featuring hyper-realistic renderings include designs for a timber-clad home in England and an office block in Paris.

ImagineHouse by A. Masow Design Studio

Professional visualiser Henry Goss recently told Dezeen that “the addition of real world imperfections” is making it difficult to tell the difference between renderings and photographs, while architect Magnus Ström claims that investing in quality CGI is “more effective than advertising”.

See more hyper-realistic renderings »

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A.Masow Design Studio
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Astana National Library by BIG

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Danish architects Bjarke Ingels Group have won an international competition to design the Astana National Library in Astana, Kazakhstan. (more…)