Client: Kazakhmysarchitect: BIGLocation: Astana, Kazakhstan
Date: 2009-03-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTCTags: Kazakhatan, arts
Presidential Library Astana
A Ramboll project
The Presidential Library building in Astana, Kazakhstan is envisaged as a Mobius strip form, twisting around a central courtyard. The structure itself is composed of a four storey high, 100m diameter ring truss of structural steel that clear spans 80 metres between cores at ground floor level. It only touches the ground at one other location and is detailed to act in torsion due to the offices and circulation areas that serve the central library which are hanging from the central truss.
Working with BIG Architects of Copenhagen we were responsible for the concept, schematic and detailed design of the structure as well as carrying out computational analysis of the facade structure in order to reduce the complexity of the panelisation. Our modelling, using topology optimisation as well as the automatic rearrangement of members using techniques borrowed from electromagnetism theory was able to drastically reduce the number of different cladding panels hence in theory save a huge cost from the project.