Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center

THE WORLD’S BIGGEST TENT.

ABDULLAH HASHIM. | KRISHNA PRIYA.

KHAN SHATYR
● The Khan Shatyr provides 100,000m2 of floor space where the people of Astana can meet, shop and
relax year round in comfort despite the extreme environment.
● Underneath the tent, an area larger than 10 football stadiums is an urban-scale internal park, shopping
and entertainment venue with squares and cobbled streets, a boating river, shopping center, mini golf
and indoor beach resort. In Khan Shatyr, you can find such world brands as Zara, New Yorker, Mexx,
Bershka, Mango, LC Waikiki, Mondial, Adidas, Massimo Dutti, Nike, Reebok, etc.
● The remarkable thing is that on average, 30,000 people visit "Khan Shatyr" at weekends.
FACTS AND FIGURES

Construction 2006 - 2010

Site Area 200,000 m2

Area 110,000 m2

Concrete 432,000 tons

Steel in mast 635 tons

Client Sembol Construction

Architects Foster + Partners | Linea Tusavul Architecture | Gultekin Architecture

Landscape Architect Charles Funke Associates

Structural Engineer Buro Happold

Lighting Engineer Claude Engle

Awards 2011 - Institution of Structural Engineers Structural Awards, Best Commercial or

Retail Structure
DIMENSIONS`

Site Area 200,000m²

Retail Area 40,000m² (160 shops)

Total Area 110,000m²

Length 200m

Width 195m

Height Top of mast 150m

Structure 20m - high sloped concrete base with 4.2m long elliptical shape integrated rooflights -
concrete base at ground level 200 m x 195 m

Base of cable net 143m x 115m, 192 radial cables, 16 circumferential cables

Cladding 19,000m² of ETFE - cushions are made of three layers of ETFE. Each cushion is 3.5m x 30m

Car parking spaces 700 internal, 850 external

 X

X1
❏ SITE PLAN OF KHAN SHATYR

❏ SITE SECTION OF KHAN SHATYR

FLOOR PLANS:

● The proposed development of 7 levels comprises of retail, entertainment and leisure facilities.
● The intensive internal planting covers all 7 levels and creates a series of green cascading gardens.
● The planting design consisted of mature specimen trees and living green walls creating the impression of an external environment internally.
● The climatic variations were significant so a controlled environment was created within the tented structure. This was critical when considering the
appropriate plant selection and procurement methods.
● Another feature is the Sky Beach Club (an indoor beach) located right under the dome of the shopping mall. According to Khan Shatyr management
team, the sand for the beach is delivered from the Maldives.

level 1 level 2 level 3 level 4 level 5

CHALLENGES:

● Temperature extremes: a 35-degree heat is normal for summer, and the air temperature reaches -40 degrees Celsius in winter.

● A risk that the concrete would freeze before it hardened. Therefore, the workers started improvising by using powerful burners to

keep the concrete warm. And this slowed the work progress down.

● We had to invite experts from various countries and do everything together. A single column was not enough, so we decided to build

a tripod column. It was the hardest moment of the whole project as we were to lift the tripod column, mount the ETFE coating in a

freezing weather, and get everything done on schedule while the time was running out,

● In the winter, the surface of the ETFE cladding is very cold, this means that warm air that hits this colder surface immediately cools

and drops downwards creating an internal wind inside the building.

● The builders were expected to complete the project within two years. However, the construction lasted for four years because of the

above-listed peculiarities, including the weather conditions.

STRUCTURAL DESIGN
1. TRIPOD STRUCTURE:

● Each tripod leg if formed from the three chord truss with 1000mm
diameter circular hollow main sections, the back leg resists 140MN
while each front leg resists 50MN.
● The leg meet at a hub which supports 12 pin ended struts reaching to the
cable net top ring.
● The hub is located so that its centre line corresponds with the resultant
axial force from the cable net under prestress loads.
 2. CABLE STRUCTURE:

● Temporary bracing to the cable ring remained in place until the cables
had been installed and correctly prestressed.
● Although the tripod provided the most dramatic sequence in the
construction of the Khan Shatyr, the installation of the cable net was
also challenging.
● The radial cables were lifted individually into a slack condition with
cable clamps attached ready to accept the hoop cables which were
placed over the top of the radials.
 3. ETFE cushion

● The 19,000m2 transparent roof of the Entertainment Centre comprises

ETFE ( Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene ) cushions supported on a cable net
structure.
● The skin of ETFE cushions is very light weight and insulated while still
providing natural lighting.
● The cushions are flexible to accept the large deflections of cable net,
however their frames are much more rigid, and so they decided a staggered
arrangement of cushions.
● The Texlon ETFE system cladding allows sunlight through which, in
conjunction with air heating and cooling systems, maintains an internal
temperature of between 15-30°C in the main space, and 19-24°C in the
retail units, while outside the temperature varies between -35 to +35°C
throughout the year.
CONSTRUCTION
ERECTION OF TRIPOD

● The greatest challenge to overcome in the construction

process was the erection of the tripod.
● The general arrangement of the tripod was configured to
allow a dramatic single lift process where the whole 1,700
ton tripod was pivoted around pins at the bases of the two
front legs.
● Strand jacks, attached to the top of a temporary tower in
front of the tripod, pulled on lifting cables attached to a
frame on the tripod hub.
● As the front legs pivoted up, the top of the back leg lifted on
a temporary pin connection under the hub whilst its base
slid in on a bogey running on a rail track.
 Hydraulic Jack

Pin Joint
CABLE STRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION:

● Although the tripod provided the most dramatic

sequence in the construction of the Khan Shatyr, the
installation of the cable net was also challenging.
● The radial cables were lifted individually into a slack
condition with cable clamps attached ready to accept
the hoop cables which were placed over the top of the
radials.
● Once all the cables were in place tension was pulled
into them using a jacking detail at the base of the
radial cables to bring the net into shape and allow the
installation of the cushions to proceed.
ETFE INSTALLATION:

● Once all the cables were in place tension was pulled into
them using a jacking at the base of the radial cables to bring
the net into shape and allow the installation of the cushions to
proceed.
● The ETFE cushions were slid into their extrusions from the
base and pulled through to the top.
● The length of the cushions were maximized to reduce their
number and make the installation as fast as possible, but during
the winter months the cold temperatures made the ETFE
much harder to work and tension.
TEMPERATURE REGULATION:

● Astana’s temperatures range from +40° C in summer to -40° C in

winter.

● the building needs to be heated in the winter and cooled in the

summer. This is done fairly conventionally by pulling air from
outside, heating or cooling it and directing the conditioned air into
the lower inhabited spaces, and out again at low level.

● In winter, a key challenge is to prevent the formation of ice on the

inside of the envelope. This is achieved by a combination of
temperature control and directing warm air currents up the inner
surface of the fabric.

● In summer, fritting on the outermost foil layer provides solar

shading. Inside, low-level jets direct cool air across the space. Air
can be directed out of the top of the tent if it gets really hot inside.

● The design provides a comfortable temperature between 15

degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius inside the structure by
creating stack effect. The warm air is transferred from the
shopping area planned inside the circumference of the base – to
the central area – and then to the car park; thus reducing the
energy consumption of the building and the fresh air load.
 References
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THANK YOU
Abdullah Hashim | Krishna Priya