Kazakhstan | EXPO 2017

ACTAHA – which simply means “capital city” in Russian – was the destination for this year’s training course. Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, is located approximately 5,100 kilometres east of Stuttgart.
The city in the middle of the Kazakh steppe was only designated the capital in 1997. With just under 900,000 inhabitants, the city is constantly growing. Skyscrapers are shooting up like mushrooms at every intersection.
We set off on Wednesday. We flew non-stop from Stuttgart via Frankfurt to Astana. When we arrived on Thursday morning, we first went in search of a café for breakfast. Before that, we took our luggage to the very simple but clean hostel. Immediately afterwards, we headed to the actual reason for our long journey – the Expo, also known as the World Exhibition. The theme of the exhibition was “Future Energy”, and everything revolved around how we need to change and shape our future in order to limit climate change and curb our constant hunger for energy. The Expo site was developed especially for this purpose. In the centre stands a glass sphere over 100 metres high, in which the host country showcases its high-tech side. All the other countries also presented their approaches to energy in the future in fascinating pavilions. We spent two full days gathering information, finding inspiration and collecting lots of new ideas. The shows, projections and architecture were highlights for all of us, which we may be able to incorporate into our scenography. On day 3, a very friendly young lady gave us a 7-hour tour of the entire capital city. Passing magnificent buildings, we learned everything about the modern city. The mixture of Russian, Asian and European influences inspired us all. From the largest mosque in Central Asia to the futuristic architecture of the English star architect Norman Foster, we marvelled at everything. We also didn’t miss out on the culinary delights and were taken to a traditional Kazakh restaurant in the middle of the capital. From here, we could appreciate the sheer size of the city. Unfortunately, the training course ended far too quickly, so on Sunday we were back at the airport and after a flight of just under six hours, we were back in Frankfurt.
Now, fuelled with fresh impressions, we can throw ourselves back into new projects as a team. 

Marlon Köhn