A fierce Siberian wind chills the Ishim River to minus 40 degrees Celsius each winter. Only now it is being redirected down broad avenues that boast novel, even futuristic architecture. Astana, Kazakhstan’s northern capital, has undergone a complete makeover since 1997. Until the mid-1990s, it was a sleepy steppe town known as Akmola. Then, President Nazarbayev decided to transfer the government seat to this windswept plain. It was a one-in-a-lifetime chance for construction firms and developers like Oleg Nam (INTERVIEW).

A host of big-name architects have since been retained by the executive to design the new city, which will soon have more than one million inhabitants. Currently, the population stands at about 600,000. Sir Norman Foster, the English architect, has built a massive pyramid to host conferences. The structure doubles up as an opera house. A Japanese architect, Kisho Kurokawa, is behind large swathes of rational urban layout. But it is the KUAT Corporation’s House of Ministries, on the left bank of the Ishim, which acts as a true bulwark against the elements. Two conical towers flank either side of the government complex. Topped by gilded ziggurat-like structures, they serve as a stylish gateway into a new era.

“Kazakhstan is going to have the most advanced architecture in accordance with international standards, all of it with an authentic Kazakhstani feel,” says Oleg Nam, the chairman of the board at KUAT Corporation. The word Kuat is derived from the Turkic Kazakh word for power. Since 2000, inflows of petrodollars and money earned in metals exports have ensured funding for ministry buildings, monuments, residential complexes, shopping malls, hospitals and schools. The challenges here include complex wind stress factors for high-rise buildings. Since 1992, the KUAT Corporation has provided just this type of engineering solution for urban design. A recipient of several international awards, including ISO 9001:2000 from the British Standards Institute, it has recently opened representative offices in Berlin and Beijing.

“Due to our government, we have very stable large-scale investment projects such as Sairan, a construction project covering 228 hectares here in Astana. We plan to build 2.5 million square metres of residential space over six years and more than 500,000 square metres of commercial real estate. It will be a city within a city,” says Mr Nam. Other style-powered mega-projects in Astana include the Grand Alatau complex. Located on a quiet embankment near the Astanalyk recreation park, it too embodies the country’s new ethos, a Central Asian version of sober exuberance. Meanwhile, in Almaty, the KUAT Corporation is single-handedly altering the skyline with projects like the Tau Samal residential complex.

No weak links are allowed at KUAT, and it has little to do with wind stress. The developer is known for meeting deadlines and strict safety standards. With a staff of more than 25,000, its corporate success has gone hand-in-hand with the country’s emergence as a global energy player. Mr Nam does not want to risk any backsliding. This year will mark a change in the firm’s management philosophy, which Mr Nam characterises as “the year of capitalism”. His goal is to capitalise on the team of talented workers and thus raise quality standards up a notch. Mr Nam has introduced motivational sessions and new protocols. “We are creating all the necessary conditions for our staff to work within the KUAT system and increase their production potential, as well as their intellectual contributions to the firm. Everything hinges on our staff,” says the chairman.
As of May 2007, KUAT’s construction materials plant in Astana will be producing 120 cubic metres of concrete per hour. The new plant has storage capacity for 4,000 tons of cement. For Mr Nam, it is a guarantee that the firm will stay on schedule in the capital beyond 2010. After that, the company may turn to large-scale infrastructure projects such as stadiums, roads or pipelines.