Rotterdam-based Fundamental Architects and Omega Render have designed an iconic high-rise and bridge over Ishim River in Nursultan, capital of Kazakhstan, with a hole in the middle to make it look like the national flag. Made for the country’s largest developer, BI GROUP, the building is reaching a height of 121 meters. The building is set to become a new home for residential, office, hotel and commercial functions as an infrastructural hub. Named “Tower of the Sun”, it’s one of three designs that the developer is considering for the site in Nursultan, the city formerly known as Astana.

The 75,000 square-metre-building is proposed for a site near the Ak Orda Presidential Palace in the centre of the city. It would be built across the Ishim river, with the lower level becoming a public pedestrian and cyclist bridge.
A large hole, which is designed to represent the sun in the Kazakhstan flag, would be cut from the centre of the 121-metre-tall block.

Above the public bridge, the building would contain a two-storey-high shopping mall, with luxury flats and offices on the floors above. The building would be topped by a publicly accessible roof terrace, which would offer views across Nursultan.

Fundamental Architects and Omega Render have designed the building to have “near net-zero energy requirements”. As part of the plan, the river running under the building would be narrowed to i...