From the glimmering Crystal Palace that Joseph Paxton built for London’s Great Exhibition in 1851 to the diaphanous Seed Cathedral Thomas Heatherwick designed for the Shanghai Expo in 2010, world’s fairs have offered nations the chance to showcase innovation while flaunting some serious architectural mojo.
This year, Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, is up to bat with the theme “Future Energy.” It’s a prime opportunity for the former Soviet republic to make an impression on an international stage. But the Expo, set to open June 10, has faced several daunting hurdles, chief among them corruption, economic woes, and just four years to complete a $3 billion, 18 million-square-foot city by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill (AS+GG).
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