Photograph by Virgile Simon Bertrand
Beijing, China
6th July 2023 - 3rd October 2023
Guardian Art Centre
'The New World' at Guardian Art Centre
Photograph by Virgile Simon Bertrand
Photograph by Zhu Yumeng 朱雨蒙
Photograph by Virgile Simon Bertrand
Photograph by Virgile Simon Bertrand
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ZHA redefined architecture for the 21st century with a repertoire of projects that have captured imaginations across the globe. Building upon architect Zaha Hadid’s revolutionary exploration and research in the interrelated fields of urbanism and architecture, ZHA's work integrates advances in design and construction technologies; responding to the increased complexities of contemporary life with fluid geometries informed by the logic and coherence of structures and systems within the natural world.
“Technology’s rapid development and our ever-changing lifestyles have created a fundamentally new and exhilarating backdrop for architecture, and in this new world context I felt we must reinvestigate the aborted and untested experiments of Modernism - not to resurrect them, but to unveil new ideas,” explained Zaha in 1983.
Within this new world context outlined by Hadid twenty years ago, The New World exhibition now open in Beijing details the evolution of ZHA’s work since opening their first office in China; charting the development and future of ZHA’s architecture within the exhibition’s ten different zones that showcase specific aspects of their work.
Photograph by Virgile Simon Bertrand
Photograph by Virgile Simon Bertrand
Photograph by Zhu Yumeng 朱雨蒙
Photograph by Zhu Yumeng 朱雨蒙
Photograph by Zhu Yumeng 朱雨蒙
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Completed in 2010, the Guangzhou Opera House was ZHA’s first building in China. Another 14 pioneering Chinese projects have since opened, including Beijing’s renowned Leeza SOHO tower and Daxing International Airport. The New World exhibition revisits these seminal projects, together with the further 25 ZHA projects across the country currently in development.
Looking to the future, the exhibition examines ZHA’s detailed research and multidisciplinary approach to their work. New digital design tools, robotics, 3D printing, artificial intelligence and virtual reality are changing how ZHA designs and constructs; developing efficiencies in design, construction techniques and materials that reduce the environmental impact of their architecture while enhancing the performance of each building.
Presenting ZHA’s research into continual improvements for the construction industry, the exhibition studies ZHA’s collaborations with leading scientific institutions around the world in the development of award-winning innovations in sustainability strategies and materials, as well as the studio’s applications of advanced data analytics and agent-based modelling which enable their architecture to address both individual and overall wellness.
Photograph by Zhu Yumeng 朱雨蒙
Yuping
Research
New digital design tools, robotics, 3D printing, artificial intelligence and virtual reality are changing how ZHA designs and constructs
The exhibition also explores ZHA’s new virtual architecture within the metaverse that is information-rich and socially engaging. Using photo-quality, 3D and multiplayer online video-game creation tools combined with high-speed network and cloud technologies, ZHA’s virtual environments focus on user experience and interaction. Powered by parametric design technology and incorporating community-forming social infrastructure, ZHA’s virtual environments are enhancing communication and collaboration around the world.
Outlining ZHA’s perspective on the future of cities, the exhibition’s ‘Building the Future’ zone presents a selection of forthcoming projects throughout China where their work assimilates local cultures and sensitivities to site-specific conditions. Showcasing ZHA’s unwavering optimism for the future, The New World exhibition examines the consistently inventive nature of their architecture. Marrying advancements in design technologies with ecologically sound materials and sustainable construction practices, ZHA does not look at the disparate parts, but works to understand them as a whole to meet the aspirations of each new generation.
Photograph by Zhu Yumeng 朱雨蒙
Venue
'The New World' at the Guardian Art Centre, No. 1, Wangfujing Street, Beijing from 7th July to 3rd October 2023.
Exhibitions
ZHA’s exhibitions engage us in dialogue with curators, audiences, and other creators, enriching our work and how we communicate it to the world.
Courtesy of MOCAUP
Exhibitions
Presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning (MOCAUP) in Shenzhen until April 10th 2026, the Architecture of Possibility: ZHA exhibition charts the evolution of the studio’s pioneering work over recent decades.
Exhibitions
The first retrospective exhibition of her work in Russia, 'Zaha Hadid' at The State Hermitage Museum provides unprecedented insight into the work of architect Zaha Hadid in a mid-career retrospective highlighting her exploration of the Russian Avant-garde at the beginning of her career, and the continuing influence of its core principles on her work today.
Photograph by David M Heald (c) SRGF New York
Exhibitions
'Zaha Hadid: 30 years of Architecture' has provided an in depth examination of the oeuvre of one of today’s most visionary architects. The first woman to be awarded the distinguished Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004, Hadid is internationally known for both her theoretical and academic work, as well as a portfolio of built projects that have literally “shifted the geometry of buildings.”
Image © ZHA, Refik Anadol Studio, with OpenAI DALL-E 2
Virtual Spaces
Installations + Pavilions
Exhibitions
Architecting the Metaverse’ is an immersive art project at the intersection of architecture, art, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI). It is the result of a 6-month collaboration between Refik Anadol Studio (RAS) and ZHA.
Courtesy of Mediascope ©
Meta-Horizons The Future Now, Exhibition at DDP. PN 3709. 2022
Exhibitions
The inaugural exhibition of DDP’s new Design Museum, 'Meta-Horizons: The Future Now' continues DDP’s commitment to showcasing pioneering design, technological innovation and contemporary creativity.
Courtesy of Hong Kong Design Institute - HKDI
Vertical Urbanism Exhibition at Hong Kong Design Institute 15.02-03.04.2022
Exhibitions
Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) and Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) (Lee Wai Lee), together with its affiliated HKDI Gallery present its flagship exhibition of the year 'ZHA: Vertical Urbanism' as part of their ‘Essence of Design’ programme.
Photograph by Xue Liang 薛亮
Exhibitions
The ‘Future Cities’ monographic exhibition examines the innovations shaping 21st century urbanism and traces ZHA’s projects that are redefining urban landscapes around the world.
Courtesy of ZHA
Exhibitions
Defined by a timeline of ZHA's formative works in China, 'ZHA Close Up' at MAM Shanghai in collaboration with ZHD explores the pioneering research and interconnecting relationships that unite our projects around the globe, detailing the technological innovations that are transforming how the studio imagines, designs and constructs built environments.
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