Zaha Hadid Architects: Designing in the New Global Context

The Zaha Hadid Architects exhibition The New World opened at Beijing’s Guardian Art Center in July. It celebrates the development and work of ZHA since its first Chinese projects in 2010, with which the studio left a decisive mark on architecture and urban planning at the beginning of the 21st century.

Multidisciplinary approach

The exhibition presents 15 groundbreaking Chinese ZHA projects that respond to the complexity of current topics and the ongoing changes in technology and design. These projects include the Leeza SOHO Tower in Beijing and the Guangzhou Opera House, which was the team’s first building project in China. Twenty-five further buildings currently under development round out the architecture collection. In ten different zones, they accentuate the specific design approach practiced by ZHA.

Progress through design

Building on Zaha Hadid’s findings from more than 20 years of research, the architects follow new, efficient techniques for design and construction. The exhibition sheds light not only on the current state of architecture, but also looks to the future of new design tools such as robotics, 3D printing and artificial intelligence. These innovations are developed in intensive, interdisciplinary cooperation with leading scientific organizations from around the world.

Architecture in the metaverse

One characteristic of the exhibition’s design is its references to virtual architecture. High-speed networks projected onto exhibition surfaces and three-dimensional multiplayer tools enable an interactive, individual visitor experience. Moreover, the virtual-reality level emphasizes ZHA’s progressive approach to materiality, geometry and technology.

Virtual and analog exhibition design. Zaha Hadid Architects, © Virgile Simon Bertrand

The name says it all. The exhibition demonstrates the potential of design and technology in the future. The consistent inventiveness of ZHA, which is proven in the projects shown, exemplifies a possible approach for architecture in the new global context.