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Zaha Hadid Architects reveals Chengdu Science Fiction Museum design in Sichuan Province

2023-01-26T18:57:00-05:00

The next major cultural project from Zaha Hadid Architects has been revealed after the firm published the first images of its under-construction Chengdu Science Fiction Museum to coincide with the announcement that it will play host to the Hugo Awards later this year.

In the form of a solar nebula, the 59,000-square-meter (635,000-square-foot) museum is designed for maximal programmatic flexibility with the intention of “creating a journey of discovery that weaves between indoor and outdoor plazas at multiple levels.”

Rendering: Atchain, image courtesy ZHA

A skylit central atrium holds the key to the interior design, with gallery spaces, a large theater, and concert hall emanating from its node. Finally, the museum’s hybrid ventilation system combines with a roof canopy array of photovoltaics to help the project attain the maximum 3-star rating achievable under the Chinese Green Building Program.

Rendering: Atchain, image courtesy ZHA

Rendering: ...

Preservation with panache: the experimental structure preserving the Qianfoya Cliff Inscriptions in Guangyuan

2017-05-09T12:41:00-04:00

Designing a structure to protect a historic artifact or monument from the elements can often be a dry affair. At their most basic, such structures are often simple tent canopies, or more permanent, but still bare-bone, envelopes. Not the Qianfoya Cliff Inscriptions in Guangyuan, Sichuan Province, however. Rather, Cultural Heritage Protection Center at the Architectural Design and Research Institute of Tsinghua University crafted a unique structure to protect the 23 caves and niches containing inscriptions from the North Wei Dynasty, some 1700 years ago.

The project description details that the local climatological conditions—lots of rain, strong winds, and a fair amount of sunshine—all are to the disadvantage of conservation. So, first and foremost, the team collected a large amount of data, which was used to create, essentially, the design brief. In other words, the architecture had to protect the inscriptions from water, decrease the velocity of passing winds, and reduce temperatur...

China Quake Renews Worries Over Construction Practices

2014-08-04T20:45:00-04:00

Heavy rains on Monday complicated rescue efforts in south China’s mountainous Yunnan province, where a major earthquake Sunday killed at least 398 people and injured more than 2,000 others [...] The magnitude 6.1 quake flattened or damaged more than 10,000 homes and other structures, again raising questions about China’s building standards and ability to respond to natural disasters.

The tragic news from the Yunnan province is bringing back memories of the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, as well as the public scandal that emerged over allegedly faulty construction of schools by corrupt officials.