Archinect - News

Zaha Hadid Architects updates mixed-use Taikang Financial Centre's construction in Wuhan

2024-09-17T18:19:00-04:00

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)’s Taikang Financial Centre is off and running in Wuhan, China. The construction update posted this past week to the firm’s Instagram shows progress on three ultimately glass-enclosed cores separated by a lush "urban canyon" that envelopes skybridge-connected towers of 52, 50, and 47 floors separately within the Hankou Riverside Business District.

Its design loans from the previous Leeza SOHO tower finished in 2019 in Beijing's Fengtai financial precinct. The firm had previously announced the mixed-use project's completion for 2025 but now says it's 'TBC' along with other underway developments in the region on its web page.

Students from Harbin Institute of Technology create a memorial design to pay homage to those impacted by Covid-19

2020-12-01T13:21:00-05:00

DesignClass created an open call for designers to create a local memorial that honors those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The competition brief explained, "This incredible loss is compounded for many families who were not able to say goodbye to their loved ones in person due to hospital safety measures or hold proper funerals because of the incredible scale of the situation."

According to DesignClass, the competition brief was inspired by Brazilian architect Leonardo Dias and his design entry that he later turned into a real life memorial for his town. Image courtesy of DesignClass

"In the face of these tragedies, how may a local community memorial honor those who have passed and bring solace to families [...] This is your challenge, design a local memorial that honors those who have been lost to Covid-19 and brings solace to your community."

The competition received 145 project entries worldwide, and through public voting, the top projects were nominated. To learn more about th...

Wuhan's Huoshenshan Hospital built in 10 days to combat coronavirus

2020-02-03T13:19:00-05:00

The first patients arrived Monday at a specialized hospital built in just 10 days as part of China’s intensive efforts to fight a new virus. Huoshenshan Hospital and a second facility with 1,500 beds that’s due to open this week were built by construction crews who are working around the clock in Wuhan, the city in central China where the outbreak was first detected in December. Most of the city’s 11 million people are barred from leaving the area.

The hospital was built by a 7,000-member crew of carpenters, plumbers, electricians and other specialists, the Los Angeles Times reports. The final result is a two-story, 600,000-square-foot facility, containing isolations wards and 30 intensive care units. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Huoshenshan Hospital received its first patients on Monday morning.

Archinect previously covered the rising coronavirus epidemic in Central China reporting the expected completion of the Huoshenshan Hospital, opened today and the plans to follow with opening of the Leishenshan Hospital this Wednesday, February 5th.

While Wuhan is racing to build two new coronavirus hospitals within days, millions watch the construction streamed live

2020-01-29T15:27:00-05:00

Medics in Wuhan, the city of 11 million people where the virus originated, have described overcrowded hospitals and a shortage of test kits, protective gear, and other medical equipment. To alleviate this pressure, city authorities last Friday announced plans to build a new hospital from scratch in just six days, to be used beginning February 3.

Chinese officials are under increasing pressure to combat the spread of the deadly coronavirus which has already claimed the lives of at least 130 people and is quickly spreading around the world.

The epidemic originated in Wuhan, the most populous city in Central China and home to more than 11 million, where authorities have begun erecting two large emergency hospitals that are set to be commissioned on February 3 (Huoshenshan Hospital with a 1,000-bed capacity) and February 5 (Leishenshan Hospital, 1,300 beds), respectively.

Live stream, click the play button to view. Via CCTV

Chinese state media has been live-streaming the round-the-clock construction efforts, and huge audiences have been closely following — a mild boredom relief for millions of people that have been advised not to go outside to limit the chances of contagion.

Still from the construction live-stream on January 30 (local time). Source: CCTV

Shanghai Daily reports that "netizens have been carefully scrut...

Phoenix Towers plans revealed as world’s tallest, pinkest and greenest skyscrapers to be built in China

2014-06-23T14:00:00-04:00

Imagined with bright pink and green lights, standing more than 150m taller than the Burj Khalifa and emerging from an island in a lake in central China, these plans for Wuhan’s Phoenix Towers seem a world away from grey old London. Yet the ambitious design revealed this week has been put forward by the British architectural firm Chetwoods, and owes much of its inspiration to an award-winning project for a new, greener London Bridge.

It remains to be seen if Wuhan's Phoenix Towers will enjoy a smoother run to completion than Hunan's failed Sky City project — once proposed as the world's tallest building.

UNStudio completes Hanjie Wanda Square in Wuhan, China

2013-12-03T18:20:00-05:00

UNStudio has surely been on a roll in completing projects for the past few weeks. Ben van Berkel and co. recently finished the Hanjie Wanda Square at the Wuhan Central Culture Centre in Wuhan, China. UNStudio's overall design for the facade and interior of the new luxury shopping plaza won a 2011 international competition. Using sophisticated yet simple materials, the plaza has sleek colors and dynamic patterns that are also a suitable match for its luxury retail features.

AS+GG Wins Competition for Qintai Center in Wuhan, China

2012-10-02T17:42:00-04:00

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture has just won another competition for a skyscraper in Asia: earlier today, the Chicago firm was announced as the winner of the international competition to design Qintai Center, a 248-meter (814-feet) tall, high-performance corporate headquarters tower and related podium structure in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.