
Architects in Kazakhstan have come up with an genius way of taking advantage of the country's freezing winters by revealing plans to create a stunning new apartment block which has its very own ski slope.

Winter sports lovers faced with having to drive hours to get to the nearest ski slope will now be able to glide down the slope from the top floor to the bottom at this new city housing complex.

A group of architects came up with the idea for the House Slalom project in the capital city of Astana, in Kazakhstan, which has now been presented to the public and the 21 storey building is already becoming the talk of the city.

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Fabulous feature: Winter sports lovers faced with having to drive hours to get to the nearest ski slope will now be able to glide down the slope from the top floor to the bottom at this new housing complex

Forward thinking: The genius concept has already been shown to the public and has been causing considerable excitement in Astana

Winter temperatures in the city often fall to around minus 20 degrees Celsius with cold conditions lasting from November right through to April.

Keen to take advantage of the cold weather and the Kazakh love for the outdoors, the architects devised a slope which will snake round the side of a building, giving skiiers plenty of decent bends and chances to show off their skills.

One of the team that worked on the project, Vladimir Ku, said that with such a long period of winter conditions, it was a tragedy that there was not the opportunity to do winter sports with no suitable slopes in the area, which was the motivation behind the new project by architect Shohan Mataybekov.

'It would be an instant hit for all the ski and snowboard lovers of Almaty,' Mr Ku said.

The total length of the slalom course would be 326 meters (1069.5 feet) and the width will stretch to 27 meters (88.6 feet) with a video impression showing how the building could become one of the standout features in the city.

City Council officials now need to approve the project which would see the first floor devoted to shops and the upper floor to private housing accommodation.

He added that the project was the first of its kind anywhere in the world and would be the first slalom course in a busy city centre.

Using the synthetic snow material Snowflex during the summer months, the impressive runway will be used all year-round for general snow sports.

Great idea: Keen to take advantage of the cold weather and the Kazakh love for the outdoors, the architects devised a slope which will snake round the side of a building, giving skiiers plenty of decent bends and chances to show off their skills

Excellent concept: The proposed project was devised by a group of architects, led by Shokhan Mataibekov, who were inspired by Kazakhstan's exceedingly long, cold winter

Impressive: The total length of the slalom course would be 326 meters (1069.5 feet) and the width will stretch to 27 meters (88.6 feet)

Looking good: The new housing complex in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, is likely to pull in a wide variety of people keen to have a go at skiing as the city has no other public slopes

Waiting game: City Council officials now need to approve the project which would see the first floor devoted to shops and the upper floor to private housing accommodation

Genius Plan: The building will be the only ski slope in the city, allowing residents to take advantage of Kazakhstan's cold winters