Location Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Client Astana-20 State Fund
Services Construction Management, Program Management
Project Value N/A
The landmark Nur-Sultan Grand Mosque is one of the largest mosques in Asia with an enclosed area of more than 68,000 SM and an open courtyard of 6,300 SM. Designed by Dewan Architects & Engineers, the mosque is located on approximately 10 hectares in a 270-hectare city park, and features a 63-meter-diameter, 83-meter-high main dome, with a total of 73 domes and 4 minarets on the four corners of the courtyard which each rise about 130 meters. The main dome is constructed on 8 steel mega columns with a 25.5-meter-high and 1.8-meter diameter. The 18,000 SM main prayer hall features a 16,500 SM hand-crafted carpet, 5 crystal chandeliers, and handmade mosaic Qibla wall with 99 names of Allah with a marble and glass mosaic mihrab at the center of the wall facing towards Mecca. The total area of the mosaics in the Qibla wall is a record breaking 2,750 SM. The largest chandelier hanging from the main dome inside the prayer hall is 27 meters in diameter, weighs 27 tons, and comprises 1,360,890 individual crystal pieces. Inside the main dome is astonishing hand calligraphy writings totaling nearly 165 SM.
The mosque accommodates up to 30,000 worshippers in the main prayer hall. Visitors and worshippers are able to experience the extraordinary Islamic architecture of the mosque, which also includes an observation terrace on the one of the minarets at 110-meters above ground level, conference and wedding halls, VIP rooms for guests, classrooms, offices, a library, and a banquet hall for funeral dinners, a morgue area, and parking.
Hill’s support for the project included construction management, site supervision, risk management, health and safety oversight, and quality assurance and quality control. A key managerial challenge in building the mosque was the extreme weather conditions, as temperatures remained below freezing for more than half of the year. The domes also presented technical challenges, with the haram dome and haram roof requiring more than 8,200 tons of steel and the supervision of approximately 350,000 CM of scaffolding for finishing works of the main dome.
