Architecture and urban design in Kazakhstan

Why Almaty — and why for twenty years

Rolandas Kliučinskas first came to Almaty in 2003 “just to have a look”. One project led to the next, and the city became the studio’s main building ground: the place where its urban structures, office landmarks, corporate headquarters, private villas and restaurants actually stand. Kazakhstan’s clients set a high bar — generous programmes, large spaces, budgets that open up architectural and material choices — and the studio answers with European planning discipline, detailed documentation and site supervision through to handover.

The practice is bilingual by nature. Design is developed in English and Russian, documentation follows local norms (including seismic requirements), and Italian materials and furniture arrive through the studio’s INTERNI partnership in Milan — so a villa in the foothills or a headquarters downtown can be finished to the same standard as a Milanese apartment.

Who we work with in Kazakhstan

• Developers of mixed-use districts and residential quarters (masterplan to interiors)
• Corporations building or refitting headquarters and office landmarks
• Private clients commissioning villas, penthouses and apartments — architecture and interiors together
• Restaurateurs and hospitality operators (the studio has designed award-winning restaurant and café interiors in Almaty)

Selected work in Kazakhstan

Esentai City, Almaty

A 46-hectare “city within a city” in the upper part of Almaty — a European-style old-town structure of low-rise houses with roof terraces, offices, an art gallery, a chess club and a “town hall” with a chamber concert hall. Conceived as a neighbourhood rather than a real-estate product, with the unhurried scale of Vilnius’ Užupis quarter as its reference. Concept through realisation supervision; Rolandas Kliučinskas is chief architect.

Kazakhmys Offices, Almaty

Headquarters architecture and interiors for Kazakhstan’s largest copper company: a copper-led material story and an “innovation timeline” experienced along the vertical circulation — corporate identity expressed through the building rather than signage.

Private Villa, Almaty

Bespoke residence with indoor–outdoor continuity, structural “tree” columns and custom glazing for expansive mountain views — the kind of villa work for which the studio was named best in category at the 2015 Kazakhstan Architecture Award (Forbes Kazakhstan).

The Milan connection

Two recent Almaty residences — apartments in the same building, each with a completely different mood — were furnished with INTERNI’s support, with pieces by Ceccotti, Edra, Henge, Giorgetti, Officine Gullo and Vasselletti. Read the conversation in INTERNI Journal or see the studio in INTERNI Design Experience.

Коротко по-русски

Роландас Ключинскас — литовский архитектор, партнёр и главный архитектор бюро AV Architects (Almaty Vilnius Architects). В Алматы с 2003 года: Esentai City (46 га, главный архитектор квартала), East Gate City, White Tower, офис Kazakhmys, частные виллы и рестораны. В 2015 году бюро стало лауреатом премии Kazakhstan Architecture Award (Forbes Kazakhstan) сразу в трёх номинациях — лучший общественный интерьер (ресторан East), лучший экологичный дизайн (кафе «Льдинка») и лучшая вилла.

Проекты ведутся на русском и английском языках, документация — по местным нормам. Итальянские материалы и мебель поставляются через партнёрство с миланским домом INTERNI. Запрос: inquiries@kliucinskas.com.

Full studio story: About — the studio.