Two years ago, within the framework of the international exhibition EXPO in the former Astana - since this year the capital of Kazakhstan officially bears the name of Nur-Sultan - a new multifunctional complex was inaugurated. In two years, the Green Quarter managed to turn into a real attraction: residents of other districts come here for a walk along the local embankment, proudly tell tourists about the quarter, and in conversations call it one of the most beautiful corners of the capital.
Nur-Sultan is a city that is being built up at an incredibly fast pace. Famous architects are involved in the design - they create unique buildings with original layouts for the capital of Kazakhstan. Norman Foster and Kisho Kurokawa, as well as Manfredi Nicoletti and other masters managed to work in Nur-Sultan. The "Green Quarter" undoubtedly blended into a harmonious row of stellar "creations" and became an adornment of this steppe city.
The complex is located in a very picturesque place of Nur-Sultan - on the Left Bank, next to the Khan-Shatyr shopping and entertainment center. The tent-shaped building was built in 2010 by British architect Norman Foster. This neighborhood enhances the status of the area and obliges the developer to choose high-quality materials and technologies.
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zooming 1/5 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo courtesy of the company "KM-Technology"
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zooming 2/5 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo courtesy of the company "KM-Technology"
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zooming 3/5 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo courtesy of the company "KM-Technology"
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zooming 4/5 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo courtesy of the company "KM-Technology"
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zooming 5/5 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo courtesy of the company "KM-Technology"
In terms of functional content and scale, the residential area resembles a mini-city. The area that the quarter occupies - which is as much as 20 hectares - is comparable to the area of 30 football fields. The territory contains ten high-rise residential buildings and three office towers. They are interspersed with buildings of lesser number of storeys - shopping and entertainment centers, banks, cafes, parking lots, sports centers and other infrastructure. The quarter is surrounded by a cozy park with an artificial reservoir.
The project was developed by an international team, which included the British architectural bureau Aedas, the American engineering company AECOM and the investment and construction holding from Kazakhstan BI Group. The project budget amounted to 7.25 billion rubles: today "Green Quarter" is the most expensive building in the modern history of Kazakhstan.
A high level of comfort and safety for users is provided by modern technologies. Thus, all apartments are equipped with video intercoms and electronic locks, and the entrance lobbies are equipped with face recognition systems. The parking lot is equipped with a full-fledged electric car charging station and a smart lighting system. High technologies have also helped to reduce energy and water consumption on the territory of the complex and to organize a separate waste collection system. Thanks to the above “green” solutions, the quarter has successfully passed the LEED certification.
For such an ambitious and high-profile project, of course, an appropriate design was required. Perhaps, the architects paid the most attention to the issue of facade cladding. After much deliberation, it was decided to focus on the Japanese KMEW fiber cement panels. The authors decided to entrust the Japanese manufacturer with 60,000 m2 facade - and they were not mistaken. The project was qualitatively implemented by Technokominvest, a distributor of KMEW in Kazakhstan.
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zooming 1/3 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo courtesy of the company "KM-Technology"
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zooming 2/3 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo provided by "KM-Technology"
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zooming 3/3 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo courtesy of the company "KM-Technology"
One of the many arguments “for” was the fact that all the company's products are manufactured in their own factories in Japan and nowhere else. Panels from distant Asia are distinguished by increased resistance to climatic conditions: they are able to withstand drops from -50 to +80 ° C. In addition, Japanese fiber cement is non-toxic: no harmful asbestos is used in its production, and environmentally friendly cellulose is used as a reinforcing fiber.
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zooming 1/4 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo courtesy of the company "KM-Technology"
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zooming 2/4 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo courtesy of the company "KM-Technology"
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zooming 3/4 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo courtesy of the company "KM-Technology"
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zooming 4/4 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo courtesy of the company "KM-Technology"
For the implementation of the project in Nur-Sultan, panels of the Seradir V series, designed specifically for multi-storey buildings, were selected. Note that the height of individual buildings of the "Green Quarter" reaches 75 meters. The products of this line are earthquake resistant and able to withstand increased wind loads, which is especially important for the capital of Kazakhstan. Such panels can be mounted in any weather and any time of the year.
For the cladding of the facades, a restrained color scheme was chosen - but at the same time contrasting. It was decided to sheathe the main volume with KMEW HCW1111GC panels in a pearl white shade. The material, imitating plaster, helps the buildings look smart and elegant. At the same time, the texture of the plaster has been recreated so precisely that it is almost indistinguishable from the original. The "edging" of the upper part of the buildings uses HCW1119GC panels in a deep dark blue-gray shade. The combination of these two achromatic tones gives the building a finished look, emphasizes the strict geometry of the volume and sets the rhythm for the urban context.
Today the facades of houses in the Green Quarter look almost like the day they were opened - they are bright and as if freshly washed. The secret lies in the hydrophilic acrylic layer that covers the KMEW panels. Such cladding does not need to be cleaned: it “knows how” to get rid of dirt on its own. The same layer protects the surface of the panels from the harmful effects of UV rays, so that they do not fade or fade.
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zooming 1/3 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo courtesy of the company "KM-Technology"
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zooming 2/3 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo courtesy of the company "KM-Technology"
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zooming 3/3 Complex "Green Quarter" in Nur-Sultan Photo courtesy of the company "KM-Technology"
The panels were mounted horizontally, "joint to joint", however, thanks to the hidden seam, the transition between them is almost invisible. The main focus of the project is on vertical seams: they were deliberately highlighted with the help of connecting strips. One gets the impression that the facades are "glued together" from large rectangular fragments directed upwards. The technique enhances the vertical dynamics of the composition and makes the buildings visually taller and lighter.
The height of the "visible" panels is equal to the height of the window openings; the building envelope resembles an ideal constructor, in which all the details are fitted to each other with millimeter precision. There are no flaws in this picture, and the gaze freely glides over its surface. Dark windows and light walls, in turn, resemble piano keys. And the uneven arrangement of elements on the facade sets a rhythm in which there is neither predictability nor uniformity.
Thus, with the help of Japanese KMEW panels on the facades, the architects managed to emphasize the laconic style of the Green Quarter and reflect its high status.
