Khan Shatyr ( kk, Хан Шатыр, Han Şatyr, Royal Marquee) is a transparent tent located in Astana, the capital city of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. Built in a

neo-futurist The Neo-Futurists are an experimental theater troupe founded by Greg Allen in 1988, based on an aesthetics of honesty, speed and brevity. Neo-Futurists in theatre were inspired by the Italian Futurism (art), Futurist movement from the early 20th ...

style, the architectural project was unveiled by the first

President of Kazakhstan The president of the Republic of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Республикасының Президенті, Qazaqstan Respublikasynyñ Prezidentı; russian: Президент Республики Казахстан, Prezident Respu ...

Nursultan Nazarbayev on December 9, 2006. The high tent ( including the spire) has a elliptical base covering .Foster and Partners page on the project
Under the tent, an area larger than 10 football stadiums, is an urban-scale park, shopping and entertainment venue with squares and cobbled streets, a boating river, shopping centre, minigolf and indoor beach resort. The fabric roof is constructed from

ETFE Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) is a fluorine-based plastic. It was designed to have high corrosion resistance and strength over a wide temperature range. ETFE is a polymer and its source-based name is poly(ethene-co-tetrafluoroethene). It i ...

-cushions provided by Vector Foiltec, suspended on a network of cables strung from a central spire. The transparent material allows sunlight through which, in conjunction with the

stack effect The stack effect or chimney effect is the movement of air into and out of buildings through unsealed openings, chimneys, flue-gas stacks, or other containers, resulting from air buoyancy. Buoyancy occurs due to a difference in indoor-to-outdoor a ...

, air heating and cooling systems, is designed to maintain an internal temperature between in the main space and in the retail units, while outside the temperature varies between across the year. Following the construction of the

Palace of Peace and Reconciliation The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation ( kk, Бейбітшілік пен келісім сарайы, ''Beibıtşılık pen kelısım saraiy''), also translated as the ''Pyramid of Peace and Accord'', is a pyramid in Astana, the capital of Kaz ...

(opened in 2006), a glass pyramid, the Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center was the second national project in Astana designed by UK architect Norman Foster (of

Foster and Partners Foster + Partners is a British architectural, engineering, and integrated design practice founded in 1967 as Foster Associates by Norman Foster. It is the largest architectural firm in the UK with over 1,500 employees in 13 studios worldwide. ...

), (Partners in Charge Filo Russo and Peter Ridley), and UK engineers

Buro Happold Buro Happold (previously ''BuroHappold Engineering'') is a British professional services firm that provides engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management, and consulting services for buildings, infrastructure, and the environment ...

led by Mike Cook. Construction documentation architects were Linea and Gultekin. The construction of the tent-city was the responsibility of the Turkish company Sembol. After a series of delays, the main mast was eventually erected in December 2008, and the whole complex was completed and opened on July 5, 2010, 70th birthday of Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...

gave a concert for the occasion, with guests including the

President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...

; the

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

, Viktor Yanukovych; the

President of Turkey The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the government of Tu ...

, Abdullah Gül; the

President of Belarus The president of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Прэзідэнт Рэспублікі Беларусь; russian: Президент Республики Беларусь) is the head of state and head of government of Belarus. The office was cre ...

, Alexander Lukashenko; the President of Armenia,

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

; the

President of Tajikistan The president of Tajikistan is the head of state and de facto head of government of the Republic of Tajikistan. The president heads the executive branch of the country's federal government and is the supreme commander in chief of the Armed Forc ...

, Emomalii Rahmon; the President of Kyrgyzstan, Roza Otunbayeva; the

Crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; and the King of Jordan, Abdullah II.Astana Press Release July 5, 2010
, Official Astana website - July 5, 2010.

References

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External links

Khan ShatyrBBC News on the Giant Tent-Cityfosterandpartners.comvector-foiltec.com/Megastructures: World's Biggest TentGoogle MapsAbassayoh on Khan Shatyr
Foster and Partners buildings Tensile membrane structures Buildings and structures in Astana Music venues in Kazakhstan Buildings and structures completed in 2010 Event venues established in 2010 2010 establishments in Kazakhstan Culture in Astana Tourist attractions in Astana