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Four projects by ZHA shortlisted for ABB LEAF Awards 2020/2021

Four projects by Zaha Hadid Architects are shortlisted for the ABB LEAF Awards 2020/2021; Changsha Meixihu International Culture & Arts Centre, Changsha for ‘ Best Arts & Culture Building Project’; Opus, Dubai for ‘Best Mixed Use Building Project’; Leeza SOHO, Beijing for ‘Best Tall Building Project’; Niederhafen River Promenade, Hamburg for ‘Best Urban Design Project’.

The ABB LEAF Awards has been running for over 18 years, with all shortlisted entries and winning projects celebrated for their contribution to the international architectural design industry.

The Changsha Meixihu International Culture and Art Centre’s organic architectural language is defined by pedestrian routes that weave through the site to connect with neighbouring streets. Providing views of the adjacent Meixi Lake from the city and giving access to the parks and walking trails on Festival Island, this ensemble of three separate institutions is the largest cultural centre in Hunan province and connects directly with its station on Line 2 of Changsha’s new Metro System.

Home to the new ME Dubai hotel, the Opus for Omniyat 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 bridge 71 metres above the ground. The cube’s double-glazed insulating facades incorporate a UV coating and a mirrored frit pattern to reduce solar gain, while the void 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. During the day, the cube’s facade 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, and the hotel’s bedrooms incorporate the ‘Vitae’ bathroom collection, designed by Hadid in 2015 for Porcelanosa, continuing her fluid architectural language throughout the hotel’s interiors.

Leeza SOHO’s Beijing site is diagonally dissected by an underground subway service tunnel at the intersection of five new lines currently under construction on Beijing’s Subway network. Straddling this tunnel, the tower’s design divides its volume into two halves enclosed by a single facade. The space between these two halves extends the full height of the tower, creating the world’s tallest atrium at 194m which rotates as the tower rises to realign the upper floors with Lize road to the north.

The Niederhafen River Promenade in Hamburg by ZHA is integral to the modernisation and reinforcement of the city’s flood protection system and incorporates the city’s riverside walkway providing panoramic views of the Elbe and its historic port, reconnecting its river promenade with the surrounding urban fabric by creating links with adjacent neighbourhoods. Wide staircases resembling small amphitheatres are carved within the flood protection barrier at points where streets from the adjacent neighbourhoods meet the structure; giving passers-by at street level views of the people strolling along the promenade at the top of the barrier and views of the masts & superstructures of ships in the Elbe.

ABB LEAF Awards website