Routeastana

Astana Futuristic Capital Architecture Showcase

Explore Astana — Kazakhstan's purpose-built capital city relocated from Almaty in 1997, the steppe metropolis that has grown from a small Soviet-era town into a showcase of 21st-century architecture, with buildings by Norman Foster, Kisho Kurokawa, and other world-renowned architects rising from the flat grasslands, the city renamed Nur-Sultan in 2019 and back to Astana in 2022.

Google Maps Apple Maps

1
Bayterek Tower Symbol
The Bayterek Tower — the 97-meter observation tower that has become the symbol of Astana, the steel and glass structure shaped like a tree with a golden sphere at the top representing the egg of the mythical Samruk bird, the sphere housing a glass observation deck from which the hand imprint of former president Nazarbayev is displayed, the tower the most photographed landmark in Kazakhstan.
2
Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center
The Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center — the enormous transparent tent structure designed by Norman Foster, the world's largest tent rising 150 meters above the Astana cityscape, the internal climate-controlled space containing a shopping mall, indoor beach resort with sand imported from the Maldives, and the monorail connecting it to the city center, the building a statement of architectural ambition in an extreme climate.
3
Palace of Peace and Reconciliation
The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation — the glass pyramid designed by Norman Foster for the Congress of World and Traditional Religions, the 62-meter pyramid whose stepped interior contains the congress hall at the apex, the opera house in the midsection, and the presidential apartments, the building hosting gatherings of religious leaders from around the world.
4
Nur-Alem Sphere EXPO 2017
The Nur-Alem sphere — the 100-meter diameter sphere built as the centerpiece of the EXPO 2017 exhibition on Future Energy, the largest spherical building in the world, now a museum of future energy, the building whose reflective surface mirrors the Astana cityscape, the EXPO site representing Kazakhstan's effort to host major international events in its new capital.
5
Left Bank Government District
The Left Bank government district of Astana — the planned government and business district developed from scratch on the left bank of the Ishim River, the axial boulevard lined with ministries, the presidential palace, and the parliament, the urban design following the master plan of Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, the buildings in a range of international architectural styles creating the eclectic cityscape of the new capital.
6
Ak Orda Presidential Palace
The Ak Orda Presidential Palace — the white-domed presidential residence at the northern end of the main Astana axis, the palace combining elements of traditional Kazakh yurt architecture with the classical vocabulary of state power architecture, the building from which Kazakhstan is governed, visible from the Bayterek Tower as the culmination of the city's ceremonial axis.