[Dreams of Living, Memories of the City] Episode 8: The Astana New Capital Plan - The Future Drawn by Kisho Kurokawa, Who Continued 'Metabolism' - Text by Yuji Imayo

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This article is a reprint of "[Dreams of Living, Memories of the City] Episode 8: The Astana New Capital Plan - The Future Drawn by Kisho Kurokawa, Who Continued 'Metabolism'" published in the August 2017 issue of Kenchiku Journal.

The second year of the annual theme "Dreams of Living" is [Dreams of Living, Memories of the City]. We will trace the unique forms and ideals of housing and urban spaces born under certain historical backgrounds. ◉ Kazakhstan, located in Central Asia. Did you know that there is a city there whose master plan was created by a Japanese person? It is Astana, which has been attracting attention as it hosted an international exposition (World Expo) (June 10 to September 10, 2017). The "Astana New Capital Plan" by the late Kisho Kurokawa began in 1998, and even after his passing, it has been carried on by architects at the Astana City Urban Planning Office, with completion aimed for 2030. "Metabolism" is still continuing here today. This is a growing city as seen by the author, a former staff member of Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates who still lives in Kazakhstan.

A 360-degree horizon as far as the eye can see. Astana (the capital in Kazakh, formerly known as Akmola) is a capital where you can worship the sunrise and sunset every day. The harsh climate, with an annual temperature range of 80°C, from +40°C in summer to -40°C in winter, is a very difficult condition for design not only for the citizens living there but also for us architects. Astana is located almost in the center of Kazakhstan and is a transportation hub for both railways and roads. It was chosen as the new capital for 32 reasons, including the low possibility of natural disasters such as earthquakes and the vast land capable of withstanding population growth. Its area is 722 km², almost the same as Niigata Prefecture. Incidentally, the Republic of Kazakhstan has the ninth largest land area in the world and a population of approximately 17 million.

Creating a city worthy of a capital — Holding an international competition

In 1998, President Nazarbayev sent direct mail to 50 architects and urban planners (teams) from around the world, and a designated competition for the capital plan was held. This was seven years after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

The late Kisho Kurokawa (hereinafter referred to as Kurokawa), who received the invitation, said, "Hmm, Kazakhstan, a land of nomads, this sounds interesting," and having already published his book "The Age of Nomad" in 1989, he entered the competition without hesitation. The competition period was four months. Kurokawa and his staff gave up their summer vacation to work day and night to create the competition proposal.

For the first time in 72 years since 1919, the Kazakh people had regained their land and were taking on the challenge of rebuilding the nation. Then, in 1997, the capital was moved from Almaty to Astana. The goal for the completion of the capital is 2030. At the time of independence in 1991, this was a rural town with a population of about 270,000, where buildings from the old Soviet era were scattered across a wheat-centered granary region. A project to build a city of 1 million people on that blank steppe began. Of the 50 architects (teams) invited, 27 architects (teams) submitted proposals and competed for superiority. Germany, Russia, and the United States, which have strong historical and economic ties with Kazakhstan, were the favorites. However, contrary to expectations, the Japanese architect Kurokawa passed the first, second, and final screenings smoothly and won the competition. That was October 6, 1998, almost 10 years before Kurokawa passed away.

'Metabolism' and the 'Philosophy of Symbiosis'

So, what was it about Kurokawa's competition proposal that captured the hearts of the President and the urban planners? Why was it superior to the proposals from architects (teams) of other countries? The key that secured the victory was the concept of 'Metabolism.' It is a philosophy that Japanese architects like Kurokawa have advocated since the 1960s, suggesting that architecture and cities should be designed to 'grow organically' rather than being inorganic, much like a living organism that undergoes constant metabolism. Astana is a city overflowing with greenery. The Ishim River, which flows through the center of the city from east to west, serves as a place of relaxation for the people. Kurokawa's idea was to make the most of this nature and landscape, and to develop the city in clusters rather than through regular, inorganic urban expansion.

Furthermore, the 'philosophy of symbiosis' that Kurokawa advocated throughout his life—the idea of allowing two opposing things, such as tradition and modernity, or high-tech and natural energy, to coexist—also resonated with the Kazakh people. In 2000, to realize this design proposal, the government of Kazakhstan requested the Japanese government to create a master plan. In response, JICA conducted the 'Study on the Astana New Capital Comprehensive Development Plan.' For this study, a total of 39 experts from Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates and Nippon Koei, specializing in areas such as transportation, housing, electricity, telecommunications, gas, water resources, water and sewage systems, waste management, disaster prevention, greening, and landscaping, visited the site to analyze the urban environment and urban functions from every perspective. Based on the results, master plans for 2010, 2020, and 2030 were created.

The urban planning concept was to preserve the city of Akmola (with a population of approximately 270,000), which was planned during the Khrushchev era of the former Soviet Union as a wheat collection and distribution base, as a historical city, while creating a new city on its south side (the left bank of the Ishim River) and allowing both to coexist. The linear city center axis and the cellular clusters of residential areas were planned to function as a metabolic city that grows through 2010, 2020, and 2030. By developing both banks of the Ishim River as new residential areas, a city that coexists with the river (nature) is created. Since strong winds blow from the southwest at an average speed of 7 meters per second in winter, artificial forests are created in the southwest of the Ishim River to prevent them.

The city center axis, which extends south from the existing city's railway station, is extended south across the Ishim River. The Government City, designed to house government buildings, the Presidential Palace, the Presidential Office, and the Parliament Building, forms a district that intersects with the city center axis extending to the south.

To improve and connect the radial patterns of the existing city, a system of inner, central, and outer ring roads was planned, known as the 'Triple Ring Road Plan.' Unlike previous neighborhood unit plans, the park plan was designed primarily to form a linear network centered on rivers. This served as an ecological corridor (eco-corridor) to preserve species diversity and enable the coexistence of humans and nature (other living organisms). Kurokawa always said that even a 5cm-wide strip of green could connect areas, allowing small animals and microorganisms to survive. While Western parks are often scattered, parks in Astana are all connected by such greenery. Additionally, a forest was created along the outer ring road of the aforementioned Triple Ring Road, serving not only for aesthetics but also as a windbreak to protect the city from the cold, strong winds of the extreme winter, where temperatures drop below -40°C. Once this 'eco-corridor' is completed, the winter temperature in Astana is expected to rise, proving its effectiveness.

'Kisho Kurokawa,' beloved in Kazakhstan

Kurokawa, who constantly asked, 'What is a city of the 21st century?', did not insist on a final master plan. Instead, he proposed a master system that would analyze and review the situation of the times every five years, allowing for flexible revisions to the plan. In fact, as of 2017, the population has exceeded projections, so the project is proceeding with modifications. Originally, there was a plan to broadcast the transformation of this urban development on television every five years until 2030, but it is unfortunate that this was halted due to his passing.

The name 'Kisho Kurokawa' is so famous in Kazakhstan that there is no one who does not know it. In Kazakhstan, there are many buildings remaining that were constructed by Japanese prisoners of war after World War II through forced labor. Honorably, these were the only buildings that did not collapse during a major earthquake, which led to high praise for the quality of Japanese construction technology and diligence. In addition to this, it can be said that the reputation of the Japanese people was further enhanced by Kurokawa's success in urban planning. Furthermore, there is a movement to create a 'Kisho Kurokawa Memorial Park' based on voluntary proposals from JICA alumni and local architects from urban planning offices, and the city has already selected a 2-hectare site for the park.

Following the creation of the capital's master plan, the Astana International Airport terminal building (currently Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport, a yen loan project), which opened in March 2005, was also designed by Kurokawa. Additionally, a water supply and sewage system improvement project for Astana was implemented through a yen loan, contributing to the improvement of the living environment in Astana. As the chief architect for both of these projects, I was engaged in public works in Kazakhstan for a total of 10 years.

Subsequently, at the initiative of President Nazarbayev, the establishment of Nazarbayev University was decided, and the opening ceremony was held on June 28, 2010. This university, where all lectures are conducted in English, aims to be the most advanced international educational and research institution in Eurasia. The site area is a vast 100 hectares. Our company (IMAYO CREATION) participated as a local office alongside Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates to create the master plan for the main campus and supervise the architectural design, and construction continues to this day. After the completion of the master plan, Mr. Shigeo Katsu, a Japanese former Vice President of the World Bank, has been serving as the president. Furthermore, recently, construction of a 50-hectare science park across the road from this university is underway. We also created the master plan for this project with the Kurokawa office.

In this way, through the success of the Astana urban planning, Kurokawa gained immense trust from the President of Kazakhstan, the government, and people in a wide range of fields. It is fresh in our memory that when Kurokawa passed away on October 12, 2008, the President himself expressed his condolences on television, mourning his passing together with the people of Kazakhstan.

The Protagonists Are the People Who Live There

When former soccer player Hidetoshi Nakata visited Astana in 2007, he described it by saying, 'This capital, Astana, is the place that has made me feel the most like I was in a [[phN_open]]city of the future[[phN_close]] in my 30 years of life. The approach from the airport to the city truly felt like the 21st century depicted in old manga' (Courrier Japon, December 2007 issue).

I remember that in 2000, when I started living in Astana, there were no buildings on the south side of the Ishim River. I would look for a restaurant in the old town on the opposite side, walking north through the snow, and the place I reached was Astana Station at the northernmost end. At that time, it was a lonely city with almost no commercial facilities.

Astana still has few tall trees. At the beginning of the urban planning, scholars and others relying on desk theories even criticized it, saying, 'Astana is the northern limit for trees, so trees won't grow there. There's no way a capital can be built in such a place; it's insane.' However, seeing the trees growing larger year by year and a beautiful city being formed right before my eyes, I am taught that it is more important than anything for an architect to work with the right philosophy and strong passion.

As a citizen, it was a very valuable experience to be able to see with my own eyes on a daily basis how the capital of a country was being built little by little from an almost zero state. I imagine that for the people living in Astana, the children and the young people, the sight of the building complexes and the city being built little by little every day appears like a ray of hope, and they watch it while overlapping it with their own growth, their family's growth, and their future dreams. I think there will be a difference in the feelings toward the urban landscape between those who saw such scenes in the course of their lives and those who did not. As I mentioned at the beginning, a city is a living organism.

If we compare a city to a human body, the citizens are the oxygen and nutrients flowing through the bloodstream. I believe that thinking about how each individual can be healthy, possess the correct wisdom and knowledge as a human being, and live a life with purpose is just as important as thinking about urban planning.

Urban planning is important, but the main characters should be the people who live there. If that is the case, shouldn't we architects also be responsible for devising urban development systems and rules that create architecture that invigorates everyone—especially the children and young people who will build and inherit the future, as well as the elderly who have supported us until now?

It is said that cities and architecture, for better or worse, are mirrors that reflect the politics, economy, culture, ideology, and human level of their era. Perhaps they grow by transitioning to the next era like a living organism, together with the people who live there, while engraving the memories of each passing age. It has been 26 years since Kazakhstan gained independence from the Soviet Union, and 20 years since the capital was moved from Almaty to Astana; it is still a young city of only 20 years.

During a television shoot in the old capital of Almaty, Kurokawa sat briefly on a bench in the shade of trees in a park covered in lush greenery, looked into the distance, and whispered, 'Astana will be very beautiful in 100 years... We designed the stage for the citizens, but it is each citizen living there who plays the leading role.' I still vividly remember my mentor smiling gently as he said that.

Author Profile

Yuji Imayo

Born in 1966. Graduated from the Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of the Ryukyus in 1989. After serving as Managing Director of Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates in 2007, he became Representative Director and President of IMAYO CREATION. He moved to and settled in Kazakhstan after serving as the chief architect for the construction of Astana International Airport. On July 7, 2007, IMAYO CREATION, established in Almaty and Pavlodar, celebrated its 10th anniversary. He is a full member of the Eurasian Designers Association.