Ravishing inner square space, tremendous shopping area, restaurants, balconies, exhibition halls, cinemas and many other facilities offers the Astana State Auditorium in Kazakhstan. It is a multi-leveled piazza integrated with the already existing system of public squares in Astana, a shelter protecting its visitors from the local climate extremes.

The Kazakhstan Auditorium interior space is also reflecting its suspended wood panelled ceiling like following a “whirling” motion, form a cavity above the orchestra to regulate acoustic absorption. To resist against the eroding effect of the salty winds coming from the steppe, the slanted surfaces of the outdoor sails are clad with glass panels reflecting the overchanging environment.

Kazakhstan sits on vast reserves of oil and natural gas and in the next decade could be among the world’s Top 5 oil-exporting countries. The capital of Kazakhstan was relocated in 1997 from Almaty to what is now Astana.

Astana may hold little for travellers when compared with Almaty, an increasingly popular destination on the Silk Route.

President Nazarbayev chose the British architect Norman Foster to design a 203-foot-high pyramid of glass, stone and steel. The shape is religiously neutral. The building also houses a research center, library, museum and 1,500-seat opera house. (Nazarbayev's late request)