This blog relies on Norman Foster’s professional engagement in Kazakhstan. We previously reported about Foster’s contributions in making Astana a true architectural capital of the 21st century: The huge yurt-like tent structure, Khan Shatyry and the Pyramid of Peace are both rather unorthodox additions to the capital’s skyline.

Now Foster and Partners will add another landmark to the sprawling city, this time even more spectactular as I find. The Abu Dhabi Plaza will be:

…a staggered matrix of buildings with a retail and leisure podium and a hotel cluster at the base that rises to form a series of office and residential towers to the north - creating a new landmark on Astana’s skyline. The retail podium contains elements which are a reinvention of a traditional marketplace and also incorporate a light rail station and public square.

The name of the development derives from the building owners. The Guardian reports:

Foster’s latest addition will be called Abu Dhabi Plaza after Mr Nazarbayev gifted the site to Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed, president of the United Arab Emirates. It will be built by a corporation partly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi.

I think Ashgabad is slowly but inevitably loosing the title of “architectural capital of modern Central Asia”…

On top of that, the new and shiny buildings in Astana will also perform a function. The Pyramid of Peace promotes the understanding between the world’s religions, the Khan Shetyry will be a leisure complex providing shelter in the cold season, and the Abu Dhabi Plaza will be the ultimate reinvention of the region’s typical bazars:

Sections of the retail mall will draw on the historic legacy of Kazakhstan’s traditional Bazaars by recreating a bustling marketplace ambience. Light shafts between the blocks are infused with colour by the use of laminated glass panels that flood the spaces below with a dynamic play of light, shadow and patterns.