A rendering of the Abu Dhabi Plaza, which is set to open in 2016. CreditHKR Architects

Seventeen years ago, when Kazakhstan moved its capital here, the city of Astana didn’t even exist. Back then, it was a small town in the middle of the vast steppe called Akmola, which consisted mostly of Soviet-style block buildings, grim remnants of the country’s past.

But after years of rapid economic growth fueled by Kazakhstan’s oil and gas riches, the skyline of Astana — which means capital in Kazakh — is now punctuated by gleaming skyscrapers and Western-style shopping malls. The city has become a hotbed for architectural experimentation, attracting big names like Norman Foster and Manfredi Nicoletti who have transformed it into what locals now call “Manhattan on the Steppe.” More than a dozen high-rises have been built here in the last decade, with at least as many under construction or proposed....Continue Reading

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