This auditorium was awarded to Studio Nicoletti as the result of an International restricted competition. Founded in the heart of the steppes only four years after the Independence of the Country, Astana is now a decade old new capital of Kazakhstan. Astana's central nucleus occupies a rectangular area whose organizational axis is based upon a system of three piazzas. In the largest of these, dominated by the Presidential Palace, the Central Concert Hall faces the Senate House.

The vastness of the location reminds the vastness of the Kazakh Steppe. Amidst this monumental void, the structures of the Auditorium rise like the petals of a flower animated through music. They create an envelope which encloses and protects an internal piazza of among 3.000 sqm housing shops, balconies, restaurants, exhibition halls, two music halls for 400 and 200 seats, and the main 3.500 seats Auditorium. Such internal multi-leveled piazza integrates with Astana's system of public squares, while providing a space protected from the harsh local climate: a temperature range from -40 to +40 and salty winds. The piazza extends itself on the rooftop level of the Auditorium. Its shape is similar to a "Dombra" the typical Kazak instrument, entirely clad in American cherry hardwood. This music hall is one of the largest in the world with a vineyard conformation, designed for classical music but able to adapt itself to any kind of performance thanks to a special system of false ceiling's mobile panels and acoustic tents.