Tenir Eco Hotels

Tenir Eco Hotels is a modular glamping located 3200 meters (10’500 ft) above sea level, which makes it one of the highest altitude hotels in the world. The project was designed and delivered by Levelstudio in under 5 months, with the use of modular prefab construction techniques. Each 30 m² house is assembled from three 4.5×2.7×3.15 m sized modules, which were prefabricated by Sputnik Trailers at the company’s factory in Almaty. The modules are made of a steel frame and aluminum sandwich panels with sustainable stone wool insulation, which makes them both rigid and well-insulated, responding to the earthquake-prone zone of the city and the harsh mountain climate. To deliver the modules to such a remote site, custom large sledges were manufactured, on which the modules were pulled from 12 to 45° degrees uphill by a bulldozer. Commissioned in July 2020, the project was finished and handed over by the start of the ski season in December of the same year.



Located in a national park, the hotel was designed with careful ecological considerations. As such, the modules were installed on steel posts instead of heavy concrete foundations, which were also designed to keep the snow away from underneath the houses. The majority of the construction work was made in the factory using lean construction methods, which minimized on-site construction time and waste. Furthermore, the modules have the capacity to be dismounted and transferred to a new site without any demolition works.



The exterior geometry gives a unique look to the architecture of the glamping, as well as helps manage the wind and snow load acting upon the buildings. The facades are finished with natural wood shingles and painted aluminum sheet panels. Visitors of Shymbulak Mountain Ski Resort can now enjoy nights in a peaceful unique location with panoramic views of the Kazakh mountains through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The interior is equipped with a sauna in each room and all the facilities needed for a comfortable stay of the guests.

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