io9: kazakhstan

Möbius Strip Library Adds a Twist to Kazakh Architecture

Lauren Davis — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:52:18 PDT

BIG Architects recently unveiled their unusual design for a new library to be built in Astana, Kazakhstan: a twisting infinite loop designed to maximize natural lighting for the library and shading for the interior corridor.

BIG Architects was commissioned to design the Nursultan Nazarbayev Library, which will also serve as a major cultural center for Astana. The basis for the design is the Möbius strip, so that the library's exterior walls form a single, never-ending loop, exposing the interior to more sunlight than in structures with windows perpendicular to the ground. The idea is to offer library patrons enhanced natural light for their reading pleasure.

BIG Architects Unveil Massive Mobius Strip Library for Kazakhstan [Inhabitat]

Kazakhstan's Cosmodrome Prepares for the Conquest of Space

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:05:01 PDT

It's amazing how sleek and old-school the Soyuz rocket looks, preparing to blast off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome to the International Space Station. Especially surrounded by Soviet-looking guards. More Cosmodrome porn is below.

Niiice: Borat's Homeland Gets A Space Pyramid

Charlie Jane Anders — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:40:00 PST

Perhaps in an attempt to shake off the backward, cousin-marrying, antisemitic image it got from Sacha Baron Cohen's film Borat, Kazakhstan has hired British architects Foster and Partners to build a futuristic Pyramid Of Peace And Reconciliation. Built in just two years at a cost of 35 million pounds, the building is meant to house the triennal Congress Of World And Traditional Religions. (Including Jews.) "This place is like a TARDIS," enthuses one blogger, talking about the spacious insides. Click through for more pyramid pictures.

[NiceForEveryone]

The Future Of Space Exploration?

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:00:00 PDT

Black smoke belches out of a grinding old engine as it hauls Russia's latest Soyuz space capsule across a Kazakh wasteland, while armed guards keep watch. This mixture of high and low technology is probably the future of space exploration, as resources get scarcer and more small governments and independent operators get into the space game. More images of Soyuz in the wasteland, and its launch to the International Space Station, below.

Images by AP/Dmitry Lovetsky

Kazakhstan's Highest Peak is a Pyramid-Shaped Alien Ship

LISA KATAYAMA — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:00:36 PST

Astana, Kazakhstan, has a new entertainment center that looks like a transparent pyramid-shaped alien ship. Designed by British architecture firm Foster and Partners, the structure arises from a 220 yard elliptical base and provides an indoor park, shopping venues, shelter from extreme weather conditions, and—perhaps most importantly—a dramatic image change from Borat's horse-drawn car and prostitute sister. Foster and Partners