Rising from the landscape in a shimmer of glass, these futuristic towers could fit seamlessly into Dubai’s slick skyline.
But this $800million (£600 million) development has a backdrop of mountains as an alternative of desert and by 2029 will probably be the gateway to a brand new city.
The project will probably be the centrepiece of Alatau, in Kazakhstan, which is being built just outside the country’s former capital Almaty.
At the center of the scheme are two striking, asymmetrical towers shaped like wedges, inspired by the dramatic valleys and glaciers of the nearby Trans-Ili Alatau mountain range.
The 276,800 square metresdevelopment, dubbed the Alatau Iconic Complex and Gateway District, is being led by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) – the firm behind Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and Recent York’s One World Trade Center.
At 272 metres, its primary tower will probably be the tallest constructing within the region and can house offices alongside high-end residential apartments.
A second, smaller tower reaching 80 metres will contain a luxury hotel and more residential accommodation.
The bottom of the towers will feature a three-storey podium wrapped in greenery with shops, cultural venues and events space.
Designers aim to create a dense vertical neighbourhood with vast central atriums to offer natural light, cascading terraces and sweeping mountain views.
Engineers are also addressing the region’s high earthquake risk, with advanced structural solutions into consideration, including Japanese-style damping systems and American high-strength steel frameworks.
Preparatory work has already underway, with major excavation set to start in May.
The project is anticipated to be accomplished by the top of 2029, in time for the Asian Winter Games which have been moved to Almaty from Saudi Arabia.
Once complete, Alatau is designed to be home to 1.87m people and welcome 4million tourists a 12 months. Initial infrastructure is scheduled to be complete in 2030 with a masterplan running until 2050.
It’s designed as a significant economic and administrative hub and forms a part of the Recent Silk Roads initiative, linking Central Asia with Europe and China.
(Picture: SOM/Cover Media)
Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country on this planet and, over the past 20 years, has poured billions of dollars into modernising its road and rail infrastructure, and reworking its capital Astana.
Town now incorporates a slew of buildings which could have come straight from a sci-fi blockbuster, including the Kazakhstan Pavilion, built for Expo 2017, and the Baiterak monument topped with a particular golden sphere.
Despite these initiatives to modernise its economy and increase its status on the world stage, the country has been repeatedly criticised for its record on human rights.
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Considered one of London’s ‘most extraordinary’ houses is opening its doors to the general public