Following the international competition held in 2006, Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) were chosen to create initial conceptual proposals for the Civic Centre of the City of Elk Grove, California, a fast-growing suburb of Sacramento.

The main objective of the Elk Grove Civic Centre Design Study was to explore a wealth of possible ideas for programmatic distribution; incorporating the city’s requirement for initial ‘visioning’ proposals that identify all the project components while keeping the opportunities for flexibility.

The city commissioned AECOM to provide ZHA a brief for the 76ha site consisting of 3 main aspects: Civic, Commercial and Recreational. The civic aspect includes a library, children’s discovery centre, community and performance centres. The commercial aspect included a hotel, retail and conference center, while the recreational aspect include gym, tournament fields, park and a wetland. Read the rest of this entry »

The design of the Z-Chair Chair summarizes the essence of contemporary design and the research developed by Zaha Hadid Architects over the last three decades. A simple three-dimensional gesture zigzags in the space as part of the continued discourse between form and function, elegance and utility, differentiation and continuity.

Geometric abstractions inform the design’s linear loop, which is articulated along its path in a language that alternates thin wire streams and large surfaces to provide both ergonomic affordances and inherent stability to the overall shape. The dichotomy between the elegance of the composition and its articulation is negotiated through a subtle play of contrasting angular corners and wide, smooth curves. Read the rest of this entry »

Baku Azerbaijan a land uncharacterized by any singular architectural style is the setting for Zaha Hadid’s latest opus, The Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre. A government commissioned work, the project was heralded as a building of national importance given Baku’s attempt to host the 2016 Olympics. With the bid coming and going to Rio de Janeiro, the Cultural Centre continues on as a landmark for Azerbaijan’s capital city as well as a symbol of the country’s emergence amongst the world’s wealthiest.

The curvilinear form is engendered from the manipulation of the landscape’s natural topography. The skin undulates across the site, wrapping the various spaces before folding into the interior to become ground. With the floors cascading from one to another, and then connecting to the ramps, the circulation embodies the generative qualities of the skin, creating a continuous path across the interior. The landscape of the interior seamlessly continues beyond the building obscuring the figure-ground relationship. Read the rest of this entry »

Lea Ceramiche is taking part in Interni Mutant Architecture & Design with an installation designed by Zaha Hadid.

The installation features Lea Slimtech, the ultraslim slab (just 3mm) available in large sizes (up to 3m x 1m): the chosen site is an 18th century courtyard, one of the most attractive areas at Milan’s University, where the slabs will be used to bring a three dimensional structure to life. It will be a sort of vortex made entirely in porcelain stoneware; a dynamic space demonstrating a flexible and unconventional use of this innovative material.

The project started out as a contemporary take on courtyard architecture. It is a dynamic composition that starts out at the perimeter of the space and then follows the orthogonal shape of the columns and lines, meeting at the centre, creating complex and sinuous geometrical patterns: The 800 m2 area is covered with 7 different colours of Slimtech slabs (from milk white to black coffee) that are 1 metre wide and in various heights ranging to a maximum of 2 metres. The installation transforms the courtyard into a space with a constantly shifting shape and colour depending on the many possible viewing angles. Fluorescent light tubes by Artemide run along the structure, lighting up the building and creating a link between the formal layout of the setting and the flowing lines of the project. Read the rest of this entry »

Zaha Hadid Architects announced the completion of the Guangzhou Opera House. The opening ceremony was held this weekend with representatives from various countries around the world. Like pebbles in a stream smoothed by erosion, the Guangzhou Opera House sits in perfect harmony with its riverside location. The Opera House is at the heart of Guangzhou’s cultural development. Its unique twin-boulder design enhances the city by opening it to the Pearl River, unifying the adjacent cultural buildings with the towers of international finance in Guangzhou’s Zhujiang new town. The 1,800-seat auditorium of the Opera House houses the very latest acoustic technology, and the smaller 400-seat multifunction hall is designed for performance art, opera and concerts in the round. Read the rest of this entry »

The brief called for the design of two prototype Villas for a new Golf and Spa Resort in Croatia overlooking the old town of Dubrovnik. The total development comprises 400 villas, two 5* hotels, luxury apartments, retail facilities, a spa and an 18 hole golf course including a golf resort club house. A recently developed master plan determines the perimeter and size of the parcels, which range from 12,000m2 to 20,000m2. The site of the prototype villas is located at the edge of the plateau with picturesque views. The prototype villas shall define the overall architectural design of the resort.

The area of development is located north of Dubrovnik, a Unesco World Heritage Site. The land comprises 430 hectare and is located on a high plateau approximately 300m to 400m above sea level, north of the old town of Dubrovnik. At the southern edge of the project site, the terrain slopes steeply towards the sea. The terrain also slightly slopes from west to east. The elevated level of the site allows for magnificent views in all directions. Towards south the owner will enjoy sea views and views of the old town of Dubrovnik. In north direction one can enjoy picturesque mountain and landscape views. Zaha Hadid Architects architectural proposal is a distinct and unique structure with a strong sense of identity and character. It has a highly expressive, sculptural quality, infused with a sense of light and space. Light and views are the driving forces of the house. The design is inspired by the Croatian karst topography. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week we featured the Foster + Partners design for the Zayed National Museum on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. This is Zaha Hadid‘s design for the Performing Arts Centre, one of three other major architectural projects that will be joining the Zayed National Museum on Saadiyat Island in the coming years.

To create perhaps the most elegant design on Saadiyat, Zaha Hadid applied a set of algorithmic patterns to a number of processes to create basic design schemes, which were further processed with scientifically designed plans and parameters. The almost methodical design process led to a remarkably biological and kinetic structure.

The exterior superstructure appears to slip out from the earth like a serpent, gliding westward to the seafront. The interior is equally organic biotic-like cavities that branch out in veins to each theatre. Zaha Hadid’s structural design with the flowing natural quality combines a modern 21^st century design with what some say is the sort of movement and emotion of Art Nouveau to create a truly beautiful landmark on Saadiyat Island. Read the rest of this entry »

The result of an international design competition, the Chengdu Contemporary Art Centre (CCAC) designed by Zaha Hadid Architects will be a new cultural destination for Sichuan Province and will provide Chengdu with an unprecedented collection of world-class arts, performance, leisure, and congress venues. CAC will be a regional art and music centre of international standing. CCAC accommodates three auditoria, an art museum, an exhibition centre, a conference centre, a learning centre, bars, restaurants and shops.

The largest of the three halls, a multifunctional theatre, seats up to 2,000 people.The second hall caters for lyrical theatre and music events, with a seating arrangement of up to 870 people. The third auditorium will be used as a music hall. Designed for natural acoustic, this hall will provide space for an audience of up to 1,000. The conference centre comprises 8,000m2, which can be separated into 16 equal and independent accessible conference rooms. A flexible 10,000m2 exhibition centre is located at the main entrance level. The art museum comprises approximately 15,000m2 net exhibition area which is located below the roof and will take advantage of natural lit exhibition spaces. Our design aims to resolve the complexities of the programme, while combining spatial clarity with the design of a unique and iconic structure. Read the rest of this entry »

The 85,000 square metre Dongdaemun Design Plaza designed by Zaha Hadid Architects will establish a learning resource for designers and members of the public with a design museum, library and educational facilities, whilst the 30,000 square metre Park will create a green oasis within the dense urban surroundings of Dongdaemun, Seoul. The form of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park revolves around the ancient city wall, which forms the central element of the composition, creating a continuous landscape that physically links the park and plaza together. The fluid language of the design, by inference and analogy, acts as a catalyst by promoting fluid thinking and interaction across all the design disciplines, whilst also encouraging the greatest degree of interaction between the activities of the Plaza and the public.

The new Dongdaemun Park creates a place for leisure, relaxation, and refuge. The design integrates the Park and Plaza seamlessly as one landscape element, blurring the boundary between architecture and nature. Informed by the Korean painting traditions depicting grand visions of the ever-changing aspects of nature, the Park reinterprets elements of traditional Korean garden design: reflecting pools, lotus ponds, pebble beds and bamboo groves, with no single feature dominating the perspective. The external landscape of the Park transforms Seoul into a greener city by folding into the internal shopping/dining areas below. Numerous voids, undulations and depressions give park visitors glimpses into innovative world of design and allow Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park to be an important link between the city’s contemporary culture, historic artefacts and emerging nature. Read the rest of this entry »

Zaha Hadid Architects revealed the Opus, a mixed-use commercial and retail development located in the Business Bay district of Dubai. The Opus is a fluid, spatial building that refutes traditional definitions of office functionality. Constructed of three separate towers the building will appear as a singular unified whole, that hovers from the ground, with a distinctive free form void. The interiors of which will be clad with a fully engineered curved glass curtain wall to allow for eye-catching views into the void. Reflexive fritting patterns in the form of pixilated striations will be applied onto the glass facade to provide a degree of reflectivity and materiality to the cube while assisting in the reduction of solar gains inside the building. Read the rest of this entry »