Covered by what is claimed to be the world’s tallest tensile structure, the Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center has opened in Astana, Kazakhstan.
![Kazakhstan Opens 150-m-Tall ‘Tent’ It Claims Is the World’s Tallest Tensile Structure](/images2/2010/07/0707-ConstructionWeek1.jpg)
Photo: Courtesy Nigel Young, Foster + Partners
Designed by London-based Foster+Partners, the 150-meter-tall transparent tent is clad in cushions of insulating ethyl tetra fluoro ethylene to shelter Kazakhs from their harsh climate.
With a 250 x 230-m elliptical footprint, the tent encloses a park as well as entertainment and leisure facilities.
The structure’s design-build team includes Sembol Construction, Antalya, Turkey, and structural engineer Buro Happold, London.