“Kazakhstan has unveiled a new architectural project for its capital Astana—a giant transparent tent that will contain an indoor city.
The 150m-high (500ft) dome, designed by UK architect Norman Foster, will be built in just over a year.
The tent is being made from special material that absorbs sunlight to create the effect of summer inside.
...
Underneath, in an area larger than 10 football stadiums, will be a city with squares and cobbled streets, canals, shopping centres and golf courses.
The idea is to recreate summer, so that when the outside temperature is -30C, the residents of the Kazakh capital can play outdoor tennis, take boat rides or sip coffee on the pavement cafes.”
Full text of story here.
This story raises a few questions from me. First, my gut reaction was to wonder how in the world this is supposed to be completed within a year. Next, I thought about about Borat and whether this project has anything to do with an attempt to repair Kazakhstan’s image after that movie. Finally, is this going to be a ridiculous, one-off thing that we’ll all make fun of in 20 years, or will this be the world’s first tent city out of many more?
