Zaha Hadid Architects partners with Hyperloop Italia
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has signed an agreement with Hyperloop Italia to jointly design its next phase of works that marks a turning point for the future of transport
Hyperloop transports passengers at very high speed safely, economically and sustainably. Using passive magnetic levitation technology powered entirely by renewables, Hyperloop propels passenger and cargo capsules through low-pressure tubes to minimise friction, requiring only a fraction of the energy needed to power traditional modes of public transport.
Combining energy from renewable sources with regenerative braking systems makes Hyperloop’s infrastructure capable of producing more energy than it consumes. The climate-controlled passenger capsules travel in sealed tubes and remain unaffected by external conditions.
ZHA’s partnership with Hyperloop Italia continues the architectural firm’s three decades of experience delivering acclaimed civic and cultural buildings such as the MAXXI Museum in Rome and the London 2012 Olympic Aquatics Centre. ZHA has also built award-winning transportation infrastructure across the globe including the Hungerburg Nordpark mountain railway in Austria, Napoli-Afragola high-speed railway station, Beijing Daxing International Airport, and KAFD interchange station of the new Riyadh metro system, in addition to the landmark Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi and the Danjiang Bridge currently under construction near Taipei.
Patrik Schumacher, Principal of ZHA, said: “We are looking forward to collaborating with Hyperloop Italia; marrying transformative architecture, engineering and urban planning with the most efficient and sustainable transport network to significantly improve accessibility, connectivity, and well-being in our cities. We share Hyperloop Italia’s multidisciplinary approach which combines innovations in design and operational technologies with advances in ecologically sound materials and construction practices; enabling us to deliver future-resilient projects that are spatially inventive, structurally efficient and environmentally sustainable.”
Bibop Gresta, founder and CEO of Hyperloop Italia as well as co-founder of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT), stated: “This agreement marks another step forward for Hyperloop Italia and the development of the fourth industrial revolution. It confirms the success of the Hyperloop Partnership Program launched last month by Hyperloop Italia to attract the world’s best talent in developing Hyperloop technologies. We are certain that Zaha Hadid Architects is the right partner to allow Hyperloop Italia to promote design excellence in architecture. Their decades of global experience in civic and transport infrastructure will be essential to ensure that Hyperloop Italia’s transport hubs are intuitive to navigate, sustainable and fully integrated within their urban contexts. We are committed to building the most accessible, convenient and safest transportation system in the world using the new generation of environmentally friendly materials with a high recycled content.”
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Zaha Hadid Architects and Leigh & Orange Limited unveil the new design for a Student Residence Development at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) and Leigh & Orange Limited (L&O) unveil the new design for a Student Residence Development at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).
Established in 1991, HKUST has become a leading research institution, consistently ranked amongst the best in Asia and around the globe. HKUST is also one of the world’s fastest growing universities. Over half of the university’s 16,000 students enrolled in the 2019-2020 academic year are from overseas, creating an urgent demand for new residential facilities within its Clear Water Bay campus.
Planned for completion in 2023, the university’s new halls of residence designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in collaboration with Leigh & Orange will house over 1,500 students. Marrying advanced digital design technologies with sustainable construction practices and operational strategies for its 50-year life cycle, the design is guided by the university’s mission to harness technology and innovation to solve today’s critical global issues.
Located at the Southeast of the HKUST campus, the new halls of residence are embedded within a steeply sloping site of approximately 25m of level difference. The building’s roof line has been designed as its primary circulation and incorporates shaded outdoor areas for students and staff to rest and gather together, helping to build a stronger cross-campus culture. This rooftop walkway creates a new connection between the academic blocks of the north campus and the primarily residential blocks of the south, eliminating the need for students and staff to circumnavigate the hilly terrain.
Digital design tools allowing simultaneous considerations of numerous site parameters including terrain levels, solar radiation, sightlines and soil conditions have defined the design’s optimal configuration and orientation; while the digital encoding of its internal spaces enabled layout tests to optimize functionality and adaptability, as well as accurate calculation of natural light levels.
The halls of residence are organized in a hexagonal configuration creating four courtyards terraced into the steeply sloping site. With all rooms facing open spaces, the approximately 35,500 sq.m of accommodation includes communal areas for living, learning, recreation and leisure. The courtyards are designed to be quieter spaces for rest and relaxation, while the surrounding hillside will be replanted to prevent soil erosion with zones for exercise and social activities.
The residences are arranged in three differing ‘clusters’ that combine communal living spaces with a varying number of single or double occupancy bedrooms, enabling between 18 to 36 students to share one apartment as a single self-contained ‘household’ that encourages a sense of ownership and cohesion.
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Zaha Hadid announces the design of 2 Murray Road, Hong Kong, China
Located in the heart of Hong Kong’s central business district, the 36-storey Murray Road project for Henderson Land replaces a multi-storey car park to create an urban oasis adjacent to Chater Garden within a short walking distance to both Central and Admiralty MTR metro stations.
With its base elevated above the ground to shelter courtyards and gardens cultivated with trees and plants in the centre of one of the world’s busiest cities, the design creates new civic plazas that are enveloped by nature.
Echoing the organic forms of the natural world; the redevelopment connects with the adjacent public gardens and parks. These tranquil outdoor areas flow into the generous communal spaces of the interior; the craftsmanship and precision of the curved glass façade enhancing this seamless connectivity between the building’s interiors and the surrounding gardens and city beyond.
The design reinterprets the structural forms and layering of a Bauhinia bud about to blossom. Known as the Hong Kong orchid tree, the Bauhinia x blakeana was first propagated in the city’s botanic gardens above the Murray Road site and its flowering bud features on Hong Kong’s flag.
At the core of the city’s financial district, the project is situated at the east-west / north-south junction of Hong Kong’s network of elevated pedestrian walkways; connecting directly with surrounding gardens, shops and restaurants as well as the offices of leading financial and civic institutions.
A high-tensile steel structure provides very wide span (up to 26m) of naturally lit, column-free, Grade A office space with a 5 metre floor-to-floor height giving maximum flexibility; its vertical core located on the eastern side of the building to optimise views of Chater Garden and the city’s renowned skyline to the west.
Working with the Henderson Land and Arup’s Building Sustainability Team, the design has achieved LEED Platinum and WELL Platinum pre-certification together with the highest 3-Star rating of China’s Green Building Rating Program. The design, procurement and construction targets full certification at occupancy.
The building’s smart management system creates a contactless pathway for all occupants from the street to their workstation that eliminates direct contact with communal surfaces and includes AI-assisted lift controls. Using a mobile phone, contactless smart card or biometric recognition, occupants can enter the building and pass security, call lifts to their office floor and access other zones such as lounge areas and washrooms.
Arranged for access on multiple levels, the large double-height foyer at ground level welcomes staff and visitors with its interplay of natural light, planting and organic forms leading up to the second floor public lobby on the city’s elevated walkway network. Suspended above the canopy of its surrounding tress, the sculptural glass façade of this expansive lobby defines a variety of nested spaces, each refined for purpose and experience.
With construction works beginning last year and its procurement targeting embodied carbon reductions as well as the use of recycled materials, 2 Murray Road looks to the future with the integration of advanced design, construction and operational technologies.
Zaha Hadid Architects wins competition to build Klenoviy Boulevard Station 2 in Moscow
Transporting 2.5 billion passengers each year with a peak daily usage of almost 10 million, the Moscow Metro continues to expand to serve the city’s increasing population that has grown by more than 3 million (over 30%) to 12.5 million people in the past 20 years. Zaha Hadid Architects wins competition to build Klenoviy Boulevard Station 2 in Moscow, Russia.
The new Bolshaya Koltsevaya Line (Large Circle Line) is the city’s third orbital metro line and will significantly increase the capacity and connectivity of the network. Approximately 58 million passengers have already used its sections that opened in 2018. The entire new orbital metro line will be almost 70km in length when completed in the coming years.
At the heart of the Nagatinsky Zaton district in the city’s southeast, Klenoviy Boulevard Station 2 will be the interchange between the orbital Bolshaya Koltsevaya Line and the future Biryulevskaya Line that will connect Kuryanovo and Biryulyovo districts to the south directly with the city centre.
Located at Klenoviy Boulevard’s intersection with Kolomenskaya Street to optimise convenience for residents throughout the district, the new station will also offer access to the popular Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve and its 390-hectacre park on the banks of the Moscow River.
Providing intuitive navigation throughout, the design incorporates new innovations in lighting and passenger information systems to define the next generation of stations on Moscow’s renowned metro system.
A series of columns on the station’s platforms are shaped to express instances of the same form being marginally distorted as it moves through space, with each column being a slight variation in form to signify its distance from the centre of the platform.
The columns are developed as ‘arrows’ that direct passengers and also integrate lines of light on the ceiling and the floors to provide way-finding, functional lighting and signify platform edges.
The station’s lighting has been developed to enrich the environment and orientate travellers as they navigate through its spaces. Platform lighting conditions adjust to inform waiting passengers of a train’s impending arrival, while a dynamic lighting system further enhances passenger orientation throughout the station.
Zaha Hadid Architects to design the new Xi’an International Football Centre, China
The new Xi’an International Football Centre will be 60,000-seat stadium for national and international matches as well as domestic league games, youth training academies, entertainment performances and cultural events. The centre will be located in Xi’an’s Fengdong New District with its stations on the city’s expanding metro network.
With a population of nine million people and two professional football clubs, Xi’an will be a host city of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in China. Taking its legacy mode of operations as the starting point of the design, the stadium has been designed to provide optimum conditions for football and maximise its use by generations after the 2023 tournament.
Integrated within the orthogonal urban grid of Fengdong’s business district, the stadium’s open façades invite the city into the heart of the building to enjoy its public spaces, recreation and dining facilities throughout the day. Located in a series of shaded south-facing garden terraces with views over the city to Qing Mountain, these amenities will also serve spectators visiting the stadium during football matches, cultural events and performances.
The sweeping lines of the façade protect the stadium from northerly winds and convey the fluid forms of the roof that shelters the saddle-shaped seating bowl which maximises the spectator seating provided at midfield.
The design employs an ultra-lightweight long span cable-net roof structure, resulting in a minimum load and material footprint that in turn reduces the stadium’s primary structure. Wide perimeter roof overhangs shelter facilities within the building’s envelope while the large, shaded, open-air terraces and public concourses incorporates extensive planting on all levels, providing comfortable conditions in Xi’an’s hot continental summer climate.
Supported by the tensioned cable-net structure, a translucent membrane over the seating protects spectators from inclement weather and direct sunlight while also allowing the most amount of natural light to reach the playing surface, promoting the growth of grass on the pitch to provide playing conditions of the highest standard.
Digital modelling has defined the geometry of the spectators’ seating bowl to optimise proximity and views to the field of play from all 60,000 seats, generating the most exciting atmosphere for football and ensuring an outstanding match experience for all players and spectators.
Zaha Hadid with AKT II and Hilson Moran develop a digital architectural platform for a Caribbean residential project
Zaha Hadid Architects with AKT II and Hilson Moran partnership have developed a digital architectural platform to create homes for Roatán Próspera. The residential designs are a specific ecological and social response to the climate, terrain and culture of Roatán in the Caribbean, the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras.The designs learn from the wisdom of the past, integrating the local vernacular tradition of timber construction, climatic appropriateness and spatial experience with new digital design, engineering and, construction techniques.
Working with AKT II, the design approach starts from a comprehensive understanding of the local supply chain, logistics and construction techniques to promote the use of local materials, craftsmanship and manufacturing facilities which support the economy of the region.
The design’s modular system is founded on the use of sustainable timber, sourced nearby from certified forests on the Honduran mainland and treated locally, to form the main structural elements. Digital information technologies will optimise the use of all parts of the sustainably-forested logs to minimize waste and pollution. This process also contributes to reducing the embedded construction energy and carbon footprint of the development.
Erick A. Brimen, CEO of Honduras Próspera LLC, explains: “The design prioritises sustainability and is integral to our vision for Roatán Próspera. The island of Roatán is already a renowned tourist destination. Roatán Próspera will strengthen and diversify the local economy while creating homes defined by their natural environment.”
With considerable reductions in waste material, and a higher quality of construction due to the greater precision achieved by off-site fabrication, this modular system of assembly is a cost-controlled solution specifically tailored to local supply chains, transportation and installation.
The dimensions of the structure’s base timber units have been established to follow the constraints of the local transportation networks to ensure carbon emissions and logistics costs are minimised. The use of lightweight timber results in a reduced and adaptive foundation system that can be fabricated off-site, keeping intervention to the site minimal and giving maximum protection to the site’s native flora and fauna.
The design’s passive environmental control strategies minimise energy consumption by reducing temperatures to improve thermal comfort, with little or no requirements for mechanical ventilation.
Optimising renewable resources to reduce energy consumption and generate water, the modules are designed to be self-shading, open and oriented towards the prevailing sea breeze for natural cooling. Local, natural materials and ground coupling provide further cooling to interior spaces. When required, water is removed from the atmosphere for supplementary cooling by dehumidification. This water is harvested and filtered and available for use in each home.
For self-sufficient and net zero carbon operations, shading canopies are optimally shaped to accommodate photovoltaic arrays for renewable power generation. Batteries will store renewable electricity for future use.
The digital configuration platform allows home-owners to plan their homes and connect with local suppliers; bringing the construction and operational benefits from the digitisation of the buildings. The platform can be used to accommodate the specific spatial needs of family members, share resources and costs with neighbours and allow flexibility for communal modules such as a children’s play area. This digital platform adapts varying configurations of standardised parts to create individual residences that suit each homeowner.
Applying parametric design software developed by the Computational and Design Group at ZHA (ZHCODE) and the Computational Engineering Team at AKT II, (P.ART), the platform ensures that each residence is developed specifically to the configuration defined by each homeowner. It also ensures that each home is fundamentally sustainable by using as little material and energy as possible in its construction and operation with the shapes of each element within the building being environmentally appropriate, particularly from a solar and ventilation perspective.
A short film on Zaha Hadid releases online
A short film featuring British-Iraqi architect Dame Zaha Hadid has shown for the first time as a part of the Virtual Design Festival, which is which is running until June 30, 2020.
The film Zaha Hahid: Words by Eva Jiřičná is by filmmakers Laura Mark and Jim Stephenson.
The footage was shot as part of a documentary that the filmmakers made for the Architects’ Journal in 2017, to mark the first anniversary of Zaha Hadid’s death.
In 2016, Zaha Hadid died because of the heart attack in Florida.
New images: ME Dubai hotel by Zaha Hadid
Home to the new ME Dubai hotel, the Opus is located in the Burj Khalifa district adjacent to Downtown Dubai and Business Bay on the Dubai Water Canal. Exploring the balance between solid and void, opaque and transparent, interior and exterior, the design was presented by Zaha Hadid in 2007 and is the only hotel in which she created both its architecture and interiors.
Spanning 84,300 square metres (907,400 square feet), the Opus was designed as two separate towers that coalesce into a singular whole—taking the form of a cube. The cube has been ‘eroded’ in its centre, creating a free-form void that is an important volume of the design in its own right. The two halves of the building on either side of the void are linked by a four-storey atrium at ground level and also connected by an asymmetric 38 metre wide, three-storey bridge 71 metres above the ground.
“The precise orthogonal geometries of the Opus’ elemental glass cube contrast dramatically with the fluidity of the eight-storey void at its centre,” explained Christos Passas, project director at Zaha Hadid Architects.
The cube’s double-glazed insulating façades incorporate a UV coating and a mirrored frit pattern to reduce solar gain. Applied around the entire building, this dotted frit patterning emphasises the clarity of the building’s orthogonal form, while at the same time, dissolving its volume through the continuous play of light varying between ever-changing reflections and transparency.
The void’s 6,000 square metre façade is created from 4,300 individual units of flat, single-curved or double-curved glass. The high-efficiency glazing units are comprised of 8mm Low-E glass (coated on the inside), a 16mm cavity between the panes and 2 layers of 6mm clear glass with a 1.52mm PVB resin laminate. This curved façade was designed using digital 3D modelling that also identified specific zones which required tempered glass.
During the day, the cube’s façade reflects the sky, the sun and the surrounding city; whilst at night, the void is illuminated by a dynamic light installation of individually controllable LEDs within each glass panel.
Furniture by Zaha Hadid Design is installed throughout the hotel, including the ‘Petalinas’ sofas and ‘Ottomans’ pods in the lobby that are fabricated from materials ensuring a long lifecycle and its components can be recycled. The ‘Opus’ beds in each bedroom while the ‘Work & Play’ combination sofa with desk are installed in the suites. The hotel’s bedrooms also incorporate the ‘Vitae’ bathroom collection, designed by Hadid in 2015, for Noken Porcelanosa, continuing her fluid architectural language throughout the hotel’s interiors.
The ME Dubai hotel incorporates 74 rooms and 19 suites, while the Opus building also houses offices floors, serviced residences and restaurants, cafes and bars including ROKA, the contemporary Japanese robatayaki restaurant and the MAINE Land Brasserie.
Sensors throughout the Opus automatically adjust the ventilation and lighting according to occupancy to conserve energy while ME Dubai follows Meliá Hotels International initiatives for sustainable practices. Hotel guests will receive stainless-steel water bottles to use during their stay with drinking water dispensers installed throughout the hotel. With no plastic bottles in guest rooms and a program to become entirely plastic free in all areas, the hotel is also reducing food waste by not serving buffets and has composters to recycle discarded organics.
Photography by Laurian Ghinitoiu
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