May 17, 2013 | Architecture, Famous Designers
It is all over the news now that Zaha Hadid Architects have been commissioned by the ArRiyadh Development Authority to construct the new King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) Metro Station in its capital city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
I don't really get the 'ship' idea but i am sure there is a valid reason. The interlacing structure and the lovely horizontally developed structure is her trademark and it's beautiful. This project should be realized by 2017 which is relatively little in time but apparently a condition set by the King personally.
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Nov 7, 2011 | Architecture, blog, Famous Designers
From Zaha Hadid Architects:
Stone Towers, named for an ancient petrified tree at the heart of this new development, comprises state of the art office facilities for a rapidly expanding city, alongside a five star hotel, serviced apartments, restaurants, bars and a central landscaped area, the ‘Delta’.
Our design mediates two distinct ‘edges’ – high speed ring road to the north and residential component to the south. Deliberately pursuing a rhythm of interlocking, yet individually differentiated building forms, static repetition is avoided and structures successfully merged within a cohesive landscape.
Ancient and contemporary Egyptian stonework is referenced on building surfaces – producing external skins that respond and change under intense sunlight thanks to the use of protrusions, recesses and voids. Both sunlight and deep shadow serve to further define Stone Towers.
North Edge buildings set a strong vertical presence in response to the ring road, forming a gentle S-curve. The skewed orientation of these buildings creates two different effects when observed driving either west or east. From one direction the louvered East Façade is more prevalent. From the other, the curving, solid pre-cast façade dominates. Additionally, the building setout creates a high degree of self shading for the more transparent east and west façades. Each building follows a similar set of rules, yet is entirely unique.
South Edge buildings, adjacent to the residential development are lower in height, seeming to emerge from the landscape as a series of ribbons. They connect to the North Edge via the ‘Delta’ – a landscaped area marked by water features, cafes, retail outlets and shaded areas, which effectively weaves the entire Stone Towers composition together.
Stone Towers
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Cairo, Egypt
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2008 – TBC
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Rooya Group
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Design
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179,970m2
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Retail: 20,813m²
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North Office Buildings: 226,163m²
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South Office Buildings: 231,134m²
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Hotel: 85,500m²
Set between ring road and residential area, Stone Towers avoids the monolithic repetition of static building masses – comprising higher structures, articulated through a series of ‘ripples’ to create North Edge Buildings and lower, softer ‘ribbons’ at South Edge Buildings – a central, outdoor landscape, the ‘Delta’ fusing these key elements.
ZHA
Aug 19, 2011 | Architecture, blog
Photos © McAteer Photograph/Alan McAteer
The building, open at opposite ends, has a tunnel-like configuration between the city and the Clyde. However, within this connection between the city and river, the building diverts to create a journey away from its external context into the world of the exhibits. Here, the internal path within the museum becomes a mediator between city and river, which can either be hermetic or porous depending on the exhibition layout. Thus, the museum positions itself symbolically and functionally as open and fluid, engaging its context and content to ensure it is profoundly interlinked with not only Glasgow’s history, but also its future. Visitors build up a gradual sense of the external context as they move through the museum from exhibit to exhibit.
The design is a sectional extrusion, open at opposing ends along a diverted linear path. This cross-sectional outline could be seen as a cityscape and is a responsive gesture to encapsulate a waves on water. The outer waves or ‘pleats’ are enclosed to accommodate support services and the ‘black box’ exhibits. This leaves the main central space column-free and open, offering greatest flexibility to exhibit the museum’s world-class collection.
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Glasgow, United Kingdom
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2004 – 2011
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Glasgow City Council
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Built
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11,000m2
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Exhibition Area: 7,000m²
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Site Area: 22,400m²
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Footprint Area: 7,800m²
The museum, a sectional extrusion open at both ends, its outline encapsulating a wave or pleat, flows from city to waterfront, symbolizing dynamic relationship between Glasgow and the ship-building, seafaring and industrial legacy of the river Clyde. Clear glass facades allow light to flood through the main exhibition space.
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