Director
B.Arch(Hons), AAGradDesDipl, RIBA, ARB, ETEK
London, UK
Christos Passas
Photograph by Frederic Aranda ©
Photograph by Hufton + Crow
Christos joined ZHA in 1998 and collaborated on some of the practice’s most acclaimed early projects, including the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati and the MAXXI: National Museum of 21st Century Art in Rome. He led the design for the Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi and the Phaeno Science Centre in Germany, which was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize in 2006.
Christos has contributed to the evolution of ZHA’s architectural portfolio and a range of project expertise. He has delivered numerous award-winning projects and played a pivotal role in expanding ZHA’s global footprint into regions such as Russia, Dubai, Cyprus, and the NEOM region of Saudi Arabia. His notable contributions include leading the design of the Dominion Office Building in Moscow, Opus in Dubai, and Eleftheria Square in his home country, Cyprus.
Over the years, Christos has made significant contributions to the design philosophy at ZHA. He has delivered numerous award-winning projects and played a pivotal role in expanding ZHA’s global footprint into regions such as Russia, Dubai, Cyprus, and the NEOM region of Saudi Arabia. His notable contributions include leading the design of the Dominion Office Building in Moscow, Opus in Dubai, and Eleftheria Square in his home country, Cyprus.
Photograph by Werner Huthmacher
Featured Projects
From a science centre that gives rise to curiosity and discovery, to a design that creates new connections intended to unite a divided capital in Cyprus, discover highlights of Christos' notable projects at ZHA,
Photograph by Iwan Baan
Main lobby, view up to ramps and skylight
Christos completed his Bachelor of Architecture Honours at the Pratt Institute in New York and his Diploma in Architecture at the Architectural Association (AA) in London. He is a member of the Academy of Urbanism in London.
Christos taught Parametric Design and Urbanism at the AA with Patrik Schumacher, where they developed the concept of Parametric Urbanism, exploring digital techniques for large-scale urban settlements. He served as Guest DAAD Professor in the Dessau Institute of Architecture (HA) at Bauhaus. He has been a visiting lecturer at Harvard GSD with Hanif Kara on design and engineering and is an Honorary Professor at Qingdao University of Technology in China. Christos regularly participates in design juries at universities across the UK and Europe and is a frequent guest lecturer on parametric design, design thinking, and the evolving role of architecture.
Rooted in his cultural background and upbringing, Christos values honesty, integrity, and discipline in professional philosophy. Beyond architecture, his roles as a son, husband, father, and mentor are equally essential to his identity.
Projects
Explore a selection of projects Christos has contributed to since joining ZHA.
Photograph by Hufton + Crow
Transport + Infrastructure
Design and construction of a third gateway crossing linking Abu Dhabi Island to the Gulf south shore. Our two-way four lane highway bridge features cantilevered road decks suspended from symmetrical steel arches, which form a sinusoidal waveform – giving this huge structure its fluid silhouette.
Photograph by Hélène Binet
Exterior View, Dusk
Culture
MAXXI supercedes the notion of the museum as ‘object’ or – presenting a field of buildings accessible to all, with no firm boundary between what is ‘within’ and what is ‘without’. Central to this new reality are confluent lines – walls intersecting and separating to create interior and exterior spaces.
Photograph by Werner Huthmacher
Culture
Described variously as ‘an architectural adventure playground’ and ‘the magic box’, Phaeno realises our continuing vision of creating ‘complex, dynamic and fluid spaces’ – from the gently undulating artificial hills and valleys created below the main elevated structure, to the crater-like museum floor, naturally lit spaces and accessible funnels within.
Offices
Located in Moscow’s Sharikopodshipnikovskaya Street, next to tram and trolleybus stops and near Dubrovka Station on the Lyublinskaya Line of the Moscow Metro, the Dominion Office Building is among the first of the new projects to be built for the growing creative and IT sectors in this primarily industrial and residential district in the southeast of the city.
Photograph by Laurian Ghinitoiu
Mixed Use
Offices
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 ZHA in 2007. It is the only hotel in which the firm designed both the architecture and the interiors to such an intricate degree, including bathrooms and furniture within the scope.
Photograph by ©K.Arkatites
Civic
Heritage + Regeneration
Establishing Eleftheria Square as the city’s primary gathering space, ZHA design creates new connections intended to unite a divided capital. Nicosia’s massive Venetian fortifications separate the old city from its modern districts, while the city’s ‘Green Line’ divides the capital into two disparate communities.
Courtesy of ZHA
Offices
Conceived as four interconnected towers reaching a height of 200m (42 floors), the 185,000 sq.m design incorporates two towers of flexible, open-plan spaces linked by a 20-storey vertical lobby, and two external service towers providing vertical circulation.
Photograph by Laurian Ghinitoiu
Atrium
Hospitality
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 ZHA in 2007. It is the only hotel in which the firm designed both the architecture and the interiors to such an intricate degree, including bathrooms and furniture within the scope.
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08