Planning & Infrastucture
Astana State Auditorium - Studio Nicoletti Associati
Generating breathtaking forms through an understanding of material and immaterial natural processes, Studio Nicoletti Associati designs an iconic concert hall for Astana, the modern capital of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan, an independent republic since 1991 established its capital in Astana, a city built within the landscape of the Steppes. The city is planned on multiple orthogonal grids intersecting at angles forming interesting collision geometries and distinct axes flanked by large public spaces. This city, which represents and imperial idea in scale and planning invited proposals from world over for a new state auditorium to be built on a rectangular site in the neighbourhood of some of the most important landmarks of the country. Manfredi Nicoletti and Luca Nicoletti of Studio Nicoletti Associati were awarded this project for this concert hall in a decade old national capital.
The Astana State Auditorium lies on the south of a historic organizational axis leading to the Presidential Palace with the Senate House opposite to the auditorium. Manfredi Nicoletti generates the form of the building from an analysis of a native flower. The music which the building envelopes, reflects in the dynamic form and colour of the envelope. The built form, envisioned as a “Flower Of The Steppe” contains a system of plazas housing shops, balconies, restaurants, two cinemas and a 3500 seat capacity State Concert Hall. The hall is a wood clad shell from within and outside seated deep within the swirling envelope of the building. This womb-like space symbolises a native Kazakh musical instrument ‘Dombra’. The multileveled plazas within the building integrate with the system of plazas on either side of the central axis. The concrete frame of the envelope is clad with glass to protect the inside from harsh extremities of the climate of Astana while reflecting the changing landscape from sun to snow. The temperatures swing from -40 to 40 degrees with assaults of strong salty winds.
The structural discipline of the architecture of Minorou Yamasaki with an obsession for detail typical to Walter Gropius with whom the architect closely worked, defines the style and sensibility of Manfredi Nicoletti. Imitating nature through a deeper understanding of its forms and processes becomes the central idea behind buildings designed by Studio Nicoletti Associati, a design practice based in Italy with projects spanning places through Italy, Europe, Asia, USA and Africa.
It is important to read deep rooted meanings in the metaphoric architecture of Manfredi Nicoletti and his contemporaries like Santiago Calatrava to understand the understated associations of the built form with things in nature and its interaction with its context. The symbolic relation of the image of the building with the blooming of a flower, the wrapping of a dry leaf, the swirling of a seashell, the twisting of a twig and blinking of the eye is read in the wrapped surfaces, fragmented curves, spiral organisations, layered envelopes and frozen dynamics of the form. Intuitive architecture, introduces us to look at objects we come across daily in a new light and with an inquisitive eye. The Astana State Auditorium and Concert Hall talks on behalf of the aspirations of Kazakh people through the livid architecture of Studio Nicoletti Associati.
Text Compilation: Ruturaj Parikh
Photographs & Drawings: Courtesy Studio Nicoletti Associati.
Project: | Central Concert Hall Kazakhstan |
|---|---|
Location: | Astana, Kazakhstan |
Architect: | Manfredi Nicoletti & Luca Nicoletti, Studio Nicoletti Associati |
Design Team: | Manfredi Nicoletti & Luca F. Nicoletti - Studio Nicoletti Associati, Rome, Italy Structures: Ingegneri Associati, Rome IT Servi |
Client: | Republic of Kazakhstan |
Civil Contractors: | Krüger Hoch & Tiefbau GMBH - The Mabetex Group |
Project Area: | 54,000 Square Meters |
Project Estimate: | 120 Million Euro (Rs. 750 Cr |
Initiation of Project: | 2003 |
Completion of Project: | 2010 |
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