When it comes to naming adventurous cities, Almaty doesn’t automatically comes to mind with most people. These days, the capital of Kazakhstan is forging a name for itself by capitalising on its unique set of natural assets while dusting off glorious landmarks from a bygone Soviet era along the way. In the latter category falls the newly opened Ecohotel Tenir, which as its name already hints, is an eco-conscious glamping concept in Shymbulak, a popular mountain resort perched on an altitude of 3,200 metres (10,500 ft.), and only a 40-minute drive by car from downtown Almaty. The property is set across a rugged 434 sqm. (4,672 sq.ft.) parcel on a remote mountain top inside a national park, but it’s officially within the boundaries of Medeu, one of the city’s leafiest suburban districts. Unsurprisingly, being so high up, guests have direct access to a popular ski slope, and for those into skating, outdoor speed skating rink Medeu, famous across the planet since its opening in 1951 for a striking number of world records, is just a short hike away.
The Ecohotel Tenir complex has been designed by Almaty-based architecture and design practice LevelStudio and comprises of ten prefab cabins, each measuring 4.5 x 2.7 x 15 metres, and crafted from a steel frame, aluminium panels and sustainable stone wool insulation. To further diminish impact on the environment, the cabins have been installed on steel posts instead of heavy concrete foundations, and the majority of the construction work was made in the factory using lean construction methods, all aimed to minimise on-site construction time and waste. The cabins meet all the standards of today’s modern traveller, or should we say ski aficionado, featuring a queen-size double bed pull-out sofa, and a shower room replete with toiletries, slippers, bathrobe, and a hairdryer, in addition to a TV, WiFi, separate ski storage, and even a private sauna. And that’s not all as Ecohotel Tenir pitches in the après-ski banter with two wining and dining facilities on the premises—Oblaka a jolly all-day pizza parlour, and also Versheena 3180, an informal eatery with a large open terrace and sweeping mountain views.
Ecohotel Tenir
Kerey-Zhenibek Handarov Köşesi 640 (Medeu)
050020 Almaty
Telephone: +7 727 3131415
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
