The Sphere Project

When a nation is about to reinvent itself, big things can happen. For the Astana 2017 EXPO, Kazakhstan commissioned itself a huge museum bowl with a circumference of 90 Meters and an overall height of 99 Meters. The exhibition space includes the National Pavilion of Kazakhstan on level 1 and a thematic exhibition with an exhibition space of over 10.000m 2 spread over 7 floors. The fit-out works are complex and are carried out by three European companies, among them ADUNIC, a new member of IFES. Jürgen Fischer, project director of ADUNIC reveals an interesting insight into the making of this world class exhibition and the challenges to work in an alien environment.

EVENT

REALIZATION SEE ON PAGE 33

An Adventure and an Important Piece of the EXPO Puzzle

The “Sphere” is the landmark of the EXPO 2017 in Astana. It builds the centre of the circular architecture of a completely new infrastructure that hosts the next World EXPO from 10 June – 10 September 2017. The construction of the Sphere has started well over two years ago. The slender steel structure is covered with a high-tech façade in curved glass. The impressive bowl contains the National Pavilion of Kazakhstan (Level 1) and a thematic exhibition emphasizing the main topic of the EXPO “Future Energy”

The National Pavilion

The National Pavilion of Kazakhstan takes on the theme “Under One Sky” and is located at the base of the Sphere. On one hand, the National Pavilion blends with the main theme of EXPO 2017 “Future Energy”, On the other hand’ the exhibition aims to identify national uniqueness. It showcases multinational culture and unique landscapes but also acts to communicate ideas for the future development of Kazakhstan. One part of the exhibition immerses the visitors into a metaphorical journey. It shows the wisdom of the past and draws conclusions for the future and respective potentials. The climax of this experience is a virtual “journey to the horizon” taking visitors on an imaginary ride into space to return to a future Kazakhstan. A second part of the National Pavilion is largely free flow exhibition focusing on the future of energy and culture in Kazakhstan. This area includes exhibition elements showcasing Kazakhstan’s leading innovation organizations.

The Thematic Pavilion

The Thematic Exhibition in the Sphere is embracing “Future Energy” in all its aspects. After having visited the National Pavilion on level 1, lifts take the visitors up to the top of the sphere where a stunning journey back down to level 1 starts.

When entering the top level, the visitor is welcomed to Future Astana – a reflection of the Kazakh capital in 2050. The sculptural city model describes the vision of the city’s ambitions towards sustainable development. At the end, a glass skywalk brings the visitor to the core centre of this impressive space, with a dramatic view of solutions on each floor below.

Within the iconic presentation in the domed theatre at level 7, the visitor explores the Universe of Space Energy and learns about the hidden secrets of space. Visionary plans and ideas to harvest energy from space are revealed. The visitor learns in a playful way about the energy demand for space travels: All milestones of astronautics are presented in the Space Exploration Tunnel and the visitor learns why a lunar outpost for missions into deep space is being explored: The possibility of generating energy from resources found on the moon. The visitor then steps into the world of Solar Energy. This exhibi - tion on level 6 starts with a breathtaking experience inside the impressive Sun globe: An emotional and artistically interpreted walk-in 720 degrees’ projection shows how the sun powers almost every form of life on Earth. The adjacent interactive Earth relief globe helps to understand that solar radiation at the Earth’s surface varies widely. The visitor passes photovoltaic trees that enhance the learning experience and arrives at the Solar Vehicles Gallery with visionary mobility platforms that produce energy instead of using it. TEXT

ADUNIC, new member of IFES is involved in this gigantic EXPO project in Astana. In early February, IFES met Jürgen Fischer, project manager of ADUNIC in Astana and responsible for the realisation of this demanding exhibition project. In an interview, Jürgen Fischer provided IFES with an insight view of the project. His answers may allow you to get a first idea of the complexity of such a fast-track project, its cultural challenges and the differences to the realisation of other exhibitions.

IFES Jürgen, a couple of weeks ago, you started the production of the exhibition elements. What was necessary to get to this point and when do you expect that you can hand over the project?

Fischer It took more than two years to get to this point. In late 2014, I visited Astana for the first time. ADUNIC was invited to have a look at the preliminary design and to comment on costs, feasibility and timeline. Since then, we have been working closely with Sembol, main contractor of the Sphere and our client. It was a long process of defining and refining the design until we got to the point of starting the production. And it is still a long way to go to the handover by end of April 2017.

IFES Besides the technical tasks, what were the main challenges?

Fischer Firstly, it was a challenge to get the content of the exhibition defined. As in other World EXPOs, the Organiser of Astana 2017 is ambitious but not experienced in managing a world EXPO. Used to clear and fast decisions in comparable projects in Europe, we had to learn that the local culture is different. Final decisions are not taken unless the president of the country is giving his ok. This takes time and teaches you to be patient.

IFES What about other cultural challenges?

Fischer Astana is a young city and Kazakhstan a young country. When you tour the city, you feel the pride of this nation to present itself to the world. As in other projects, we try to merge our international experience with the local network and to make use of the enthusiasm of the people for this EXPO. A year ago, we have founded ADUNIC Kazakhstan, a fully licensed construction company. It allows us to provide a complete service and to tap the local network comprehensively.

IFES Astana is about 5’000 km east of central Europe and – in winter be it locally but also international logistics specialists. time – five hours ahead of Central European Time MEZ. How do you cope with that?

IFES How did you set up your team in Astana?

Fischer On a project management level, we do have a strong team of more than 30 people, consisting of designers, project managers, site supervisors and administrative staff. In the peak time, around March and April 2017, we will coordinate a crew of more than 200 craftsmen, specialists and local suppliers. Each level is assigned to a dedicated team. Procurement and logistics are coordinated centrally. It is satisfying to see that this colourful mix of European, Russian and Kazakh citizens work hand in hand.

Fischer You are right. Logistics and communication are indeed challenging. Our project team is spread across a couple of countries: Switzerland, Germany, Turkey and Kazakhstan and we operate in three different time zones. During the design phase, we were forced to “commute” between the different hubs. Now, as we are in the realisation phase, the core team is more and more located here in Astana and communication within the team is easier. In the same time, logistics becomes the main challenge now. Thanks to our local set up we are able to procure an important part locally. But the necessary high-end A/V equipment and interactive exhibits are mainly a product of international specialists and do have to be imported. To get this all here in time is a daily struggle and involves a lot of administrative tasks. Luckily we can count on strong partners,

IFES Thank you, that all sounds exciting. We wish you a successful project finish and look forward to seeing it all in operation in June!

Involved Parties

CLIENT

EXPO Astana 2017 Organising Committee

TURNKEY CONTRACTOR

Sembol Construction, Istanbul (TR) www.sembolinsaat.com.tr

EXHIBIT CONTRACTORS

Level 1, 2 APD | Acciona, Sevilla (ES) www.acciona-apd.com

Level 3-6 ADUNIC | Frauenfeld (CH) www.adunic.com

Level 7 – 8 | Simmetrico, Milano (IT) www.simmetrico.it