On March 5, 2026, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) revealed images of a new landmark project in Kazakhstan, in Central Asia. The project consists of two towers, the "Iconic Complex," and a master plan for the area, the "Gateway District." The complex is located in Alatau, a new city along the Almaty–Qonaev highway planned to become an international investment hub. A strategic project for the country, the city's master plan extends through 2050, with the first phase of major infrastructure projects scheduled for completion by 2030. Within this context, SOM's design is expected to serve as the city's economic and administrative nucleus, establishing the central business district of Alatau City and setting a benchmark for future investment projects in the area.
The Almaty–Qonaev highway is considered an important section of the Western Europe–Western China transport corridor connecting Europe, China, and Central Asian countries under the "New Silk Road" initiative. The new city is located within a Special Economic Zone spanning over 97,900 hectares, which provides incentives for the growth of high-tech industries, investment attraction, and the support of entrepreneurial initiatives. Alatau is planned to span 88,000 hectares across four districts: a full-scale tourism cluster with a year-round integrated resort; an export-oriented industrial and logistics zone designed for manufacturing and international trade; a territory dedicated to scientific development, higher education, and a medical cluster; and a major financial and business hub with mixed office spaces, shopping galleries, leisure, and entertainment facilities.
SOM's tower complex is expected to be the centerpiece of the fourth zone, the Gateway District, designed as a walkable, dense neighborhood with multimodal transportation. The general plan includes express rail and Light Rail Transit (LRT) corridors, green boulevards, shaded streets, and public plazas expected to foster a human-scaled urban experience. The project also integrates micromobility infrastructure, including provisions for Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, alongside pedestrian and transit networks. These transport measures are projected for a city of 1.87 million residents, hosting over 4 million tourists annually and accommodating 40,000 students by 2050. The city government has declared its intention to dedicate a total of 55.8 million square metres to residential spaces alongside 3.6 million square metres of financial facilities.
The landmark pyramidal towers are intended to be a symbol of Alatau's business center. SOM's Iconic Complex design forms a 276,800-square-metre vertical district defined by two gateway towers. The complex includes office, residential, hospitality, retail, and cultural programs, establishing a dense, mixed-use urban core for the new city. Rising 272 metres across 56 floors, the primary tower is expected to accommodate office space and premium residences, becoming the tallest structure in the Almaty region and southern Kazakhstan upon completion. The adjacent 80-metre tower integrates a luxury hotel and branded residences. At the base of the towers, a three-level podium of 58,000 square metres anchors the complex and terraces toward the public space with retail, cultural venues, and event spaces surrounded by pedestrian walkways.
The project's shape and structural design are driven by the region's high seismic conditions. Both buildings feature seismically resilient framing and damping systems that dissipate earthquake energy and ensure long-term safety and post-disaster functionality. The exterior expression is defined by integrated shading strategies to reduce solar gain, while central atria draw natural light into the floor plates and frame views of the surrounding mountains. The selected concept design is titled "Mountain Landscape," evoking the surrounding Trans-Ili Alatau—a 350-kilometre range of valleys, glaciers, and stratified terrain characteristic of the Kazakh landscape. In September 2025, the construction of the towers was entrusted to the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), which has opted for two approaches to seismic conditions: the "Japanese seismic damping model," which absorbs earthquake energy through controlled structural movement, and the "American reinforced structural framework model," where building stability is achieved through a high-strength steel skeleton.
Preparatory work at the construction site has already started, and the complex is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2029. The project is led by the Alatau City Development Group LLP alongside investors and government partners supporting Alatau as a strategic national initiative. SOM is known in Kazakhstan for designing the multifunctional Talan Towers complex in Astana and is recognized for previous work on landmark tall buildings, including the Burj Khalifa, One World Trade Center, and Jin Mao Tower. The firm recently completed one of the Olympic Villages designed for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and broke ground on Concourse D at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.
