Zaha Hadid Architect’s Innovation Tower for Hong Kong Polytechnic University is near its completion. The architectural office was commissioned to design the architectural landmark that would symbolize the dynamic development of Hong Kong as Asia’s greatest design hub as well as the high level educational institution offering variety of design and research programs.

The design for the University’s Innovation Tower came as a result of the re-examining the characteristics and the requirements of such an institution and therefore the creative multidisciplinary environment called for something other than the classical typography of a tower rising from the podium – the design team proposed seamlessly fluid new structure. However, the tower still references University’s rich tradition, but with an accent on the upcoming, future achievements.

“Collateral flexibility” is a concept derived from the university’s many different programs and their interconnections, which provided a clear guiding principle, used to govern the building’s internal logic and to create a structure inherently organized and easily attended by visitors from the entering point. Read the rest of this entry »

Zaha Hadid Architects’s design for the Dorobanti Tower in Bucharest, Romania, aims to provide an iconic presence in the very center of the city. The architecture of this high-rise is progressive – the distinctive form and ingenious structure of the skyscraper set new parameters for sky-high living. The form of the building is a chamfered diamond and its exterior is wrapped in irregular meandering structural lattice.

Building’s profile was generated by urban parameters, site constraints and program requirements – the outcome is and elegant, tapering tower which dynamically changes surface profile. As it is tapering inwards, the skyscraper maximizes views and the incoming daylight for its users. The tower is offset at the ground level, therefore providing a generous and spacious public space and the entrance plaza.

Regarding its solid structure, the Dorobanti Tower had to be conceived to maximize strength and resilience to earthquakes, due to Bucharest’s highly vulnerable seismic zone.

The public realm adjacent to the tower is magnificent and first of its kind in Bucharest – it represents major attraction within the city, offering new meeting space and urban spot, conceived as a wrapped carpet made in concrete. The surface of that urban carpet connects three surrounding streets, linking seating areas, water basins, fountains and green spaces into one urban entity. Read the rest of this entry »

Zaha Hadid has been commissioned by Swarovski to design a celebratory installation which would mark the completion of her fist major build project, twenty years ago – the Fire Station at Vitra Campus, in Weil am Rhein, Germany.

Highly polished angular pieces are entitled Prima, and the components are flexible – they could be moved into different configurations. The assembly is installed in front of Fire Station, reflecting the design process of Hadid’s building. The form of the installation pieces is party derived from the dynamism of her drawings for Vitra Fire Station, expressive and exploding in three dimensions from the lines and planes of the paintings and sketches. The polished, reflective surfaces form the urban furniture – the seating for visitors, and are equipped with LED lighting.

The pieces are built using the advanced design and manufacturing technologies available, therefore the facets of Prima seating are a direct translation of the lines from the canvas, representing the detailed and thoughtful experimentation with the aim of perfecting the Fire Station Design. However, the new design could be seen as continuation of the twenty years older process, documenting architect’s remarkable adventure as an articulator of complexity, managing that two dimensional sketches evolve into a workable space and actual building. Inspired by the work of Kazimir Malevich, Hadid translated the anti-gravitational space of Russian avant-garde painting and sculpture into her own and unique architectural expression. Read the rest of this entry »

Zaha Hadid Architects won the competition for The King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This organic, amorphous metro station will be located on the edge of the Financial District and will serve as a major hub between most important city’s metro lines. The station will is planned as integrated within the urban context of the district, responding to the functional challenges of one multimodal transport center as well as the district’s future vision. The smoothly curved station spreads over six platforms over four public floors and two levels of underground car parking.

In order to emphasize the building’s importance as a multi-functional, mixed-use, dynamic public space, the project of the The King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station extends beyond the simple station typology. Not only that the station will act as an intermediate space perceived through quick transitions, but it will also provide great and dramatic public space for the city of Riyadh. Read the rest of this entry »

Zaha Hadid’s  Serac bench is finally unveiled at this year Milan Design Week. It is created in collaboration with product designers and lanners at Lab 23 – a company known for its development philosophy and long standing activity in a direction of future technological developments.  Graceful in its smoothness and fluidity, the bench is powerful piece of urban sculpture serving as urban furniture for seating and resting. Evoked by the image of a block of ice formed by intersecting crevasses in a glacier, the bench is made of hard-wearing resin quartz, a durable engineered stone. This specific material is chosen because of the perfection of its curvature when moulded. As a bonus, the surface of the bench has a sparkle from quartz component, therefore capturing light. The bench could be considered perfect example of beautiful synergy of form and material and their harmonious relationship.

The object meets the solid ground at the crest of two sweeping curves that wrap the stepped void. Designed in a consistent formal language of Zaha Hadid, layered lines of intersecting curves create crisp shadows resulting from its form. Dynamically changing as one move, the bench offers set of smooth transitions between the different frames. Designed in contemporary understanding of street furniture, this particular object would surely elevate the public realm, with the touch of class and freshness. Read the rest of this entry »

ThyssenKrupp Headquarters in Essen, Germany, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, is a landmark architecture, awarded third prize in an open international two-phase competition. The winning designs were chosen during the deciding two-day panel meeting at the Zollverein School of Management and Design. Its unique, technical-innovative and organic form promotes the values of ThyssenKrupp. Centrifugal field acts as an outline of the buildings and the surrounding landscape. This polished development creates the atmosphere of dune landscapes or glacier fields. The aim was to create iconic architectural piece that would be acknowledged beyond the borders of Essen.

The urban master plan included the design of office buildings, multi-functional building, an academy and a hotel, along with the development of the new headquarters and was dealing with the integration of new features within the existing structure on the site. Read the rest of this entry »

Changsha Meixihu International Culture & Art Center is the newest winning design from the Atelier of Zaha Hadid Architects. The complex embodies a unique variety of civic nodes and spaces – Grand Theater, Contemporary Art Museum, Multipurpose Hall and supporting facilities and it broke ground in October. Changsha, the capital of the south Chinese province of Hunan is in the midst of striking population growth and rapid urban development, an at the center of that roller coaster, worth $130 billion, is Meixihu lake, planned as a venue for numerous, ambitious cultural projects.

The Grand Theater will be the largest performance center in the city, and with the capacity of 1800 seats, it is the focal point of the complex. It is designed as highly equipped, in order to host world- standard performances. The building facilitates public spaces, such as lobbies, bars and restaurants, VIP hospitality, as well as ancillary functions – administration, rehearsal rooms, necessary backstage logistics and make-up rooms and wardrobes.

The Multipurpose Hall is structured as flexible, therefore it can be adapted and transformed to different configurations. With its maximum capacity of 500 seats, in can accommodate various functions, from banquets and commercial events, to small plays and fashion shows.

Fluid petal-like form of the Museum, composed around the internal central atrium, is set of patchwork gallery spaces, seamlessly continuing on to another. Building’s composition highlights site’s unique location at the lake waterfront, with the outward views and balconies. External plaza, surrounded by the fluid complex, is a venue for outdoor sculptures, exhibition and events, therefore extending the programs to the outdoor space, as a natural continuation of the interior. Read the rest of this entry »

Hadid Tower for CityLife, Milan is one of three towers which represent the future business and shopping district in the heart of city – central historic Fiera area. While other two towers were designed by Arata Isozaki and Andra Maffei – “the straight one” and Daniel Libeskind – “the curved one”, “the twisted one” designed by Zaha Hadid features a dynamic vertical twisting motion that enhances the perception and views of its urban surroundings. Three towers are part of the wider redevelopment program of this historical trade fair area of Milan, one of the largest pedestrian zones in Europe. In order to be enjoyed on foot or by bicycle, the traffic in this district is circulating only underground.

CityLife, new, modern and progressive district, provides its inhabitants with new model for work and leisure. Hadid Tower, currently under construction, creates a portal to Fiera Milano – 43-storey, 190 meters high retail skyscraper is emerging from the site, giving shape to a torsion due to its slow rising and twisting from the base. The aim was to release horizontal energy into vertical, spiraling vector mimicking snaking forms of the housing across. Read the rest of this entry »

Zaha Hadid Architects has won the international competition to build the new National Stadium of Japan. The Practice, which produced the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympic Games, was selected ahead of 45 other international architecture firms for the US $1.62bn development.

The announcement was made in Tokyo by celebrated Japanese architect Tadao Ando, who chaired the judging panel. British architects Richard Rogers and Norman Foster were also judges. Making the announcement Mr Ando praised the fluidity and innovation of Hadid’s design and how it complements Tokyo’s landscape. “The entry’s dynamic and futuristic design embodies the messages Japan would like to convey to the rest of the world,” said Mr Ando at a press conference on Thursday. Read the rest of this entry »

Over the last decade or so we have heard the buzz of parametric design and experimented with the physical possibilities that come with digital fabrication. There is no question that our primary push forward lies in research labs and institutes synthesizing new materials and scripting new algorithms for generative or morphogenetic design. We have dipped our feet into the sea of what digital architecture can be, but we are still in the experimental phase. Currently, monumental architecture is left to the big named-architects, leaving the rest of the world’s architecture firms in shy efforts to making such bold moves. However, like most other cases in history, technological innovation plays a part in leveling the playing field. Some have understood the key ingredient to making the wildest schematic designs a constructed reality: innovative technological thinking.

Frank Gehry amazed the world with his Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. When there was no software that could translate his gestural drawings to a 3D model, he figured out a way. The solution came as a 3D modeling software called Digital Project, which contributed to the birth of Gehry Technologies, a company with bestselling project delivery service. In only 10 years since their establishment, Gehry Technologies has already assisted some of the world’s most complex architecture projects through various consulting and modeling services as well as licensing Digital Project to other teams. An alternative to ArchiCad, Microstation, and Revit, Digital Project (based on CATIA from Dassault Systemes) is widely favored for its design-to-fabrication feature and complex parametric modeling tools. Digital Project has been instrumental in assisting engineering and production management of some recently popular projects like the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City, Beijing National Stadium, and Louvre Abu Dhabi. With the mission to “provide the most cutting edge technology, improve the spirit of collaboration, and support the realization of inspirational work for the build environment” Gehry Technologies has gained a reputation for embarking on monumental projects all over the world. Now with a decade of experience leading and assisting large-scale construction projects, Gehry Technologies addresses an issue that has for a long time been a project of its own to handle in the construction process: project collaboration. Read the rest of this entry »