{"id":460525,"date":"2026-02-05T17:45:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/460525\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T17:45:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:45:11","slug":"zaha-hadid-architects-designs-district-on-hangzhou-waterfront","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/460525\/","title":{"rendered":"Zaha Hadid Architects designs district on Hangzhou waterfront"},"content":{"rendered":"

A series of sweeping public buildings<\/a> are set to make up the Qiantang Bay Cultural District designed by UK studio Zaha Hadid Architects<\/a> along the Zhedong Canal in Hangzhou<\/a>, China.<\/p>\n

Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects<\/a>, the development will contain cultural<\/a> and educational buildings, including a library, youth centre and museum, framed by landscaped parklands, plazas and performance spaces.<\/p>\n

A gallery, music hall and fitness centre will also be built as part of the development.<\/p>\n

\"QiantangZaha Hadid Architects has designed a cultural district along the Zhedong Canal in Hangzhou<\/p>\n

Renders of the proposal reveal a trio of sculptural waterside structures flanked with planted outdoor space and steps down to the canal.<\/p>\n

A network of bridges and paths are set to weave through the site to connect both sides of the canal and the surrounding city with the new district.<\/p>\n

“The Qiantang Bay Central Water Axis creates a series of new landscaped parklands, terraces and gardens along the Zhedong Canal \u2013 redefining the former industrial areas of the canal basin into a new green corridor and that weaves through the heart of the city,” the studio said.<\/p>\n

\"VisualisationThe district will include a library, youth centre and museum. Render by Atchain<\/p>\n

Zaha Hadid Architects drew on Hangzhou’s terrain for the buildings’ sinuous designs. This includes a glazed library volume, which will be framed with large “inhabitable architectural columns” set to double as storage and reading spaces for visitors.<\/p>\n

“Serving as structural support and defining the institutes identity as assembled ‘stones of knowledge’, these columns will accommodate the library’s extensive literary collections and archives,” the studio said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Grand<\/p>\n

“Sinuous structural system” supports Hangzhou footbridge by Zaha Hadid Architects\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Externally, the library’s facade will be fitted with folded glass elements to draw natural light into the interior, paired with masonry tiles informed by the region’s jade artistry.<\/p>\n

Renders of the building also reveal a shiny underside to the overhanging roof, and curving wooden structures on the interior.<\/p>\n

\"ExteriorThe library will have “inhabitable architectural columns”<\/p>\n

Alongside this, the International Youth Centre will have a tiered, terrace-lined structure influenced by the adjacent waterfront.<\/p>\n

According to the studio, the building’s facade geometries will extend to its “carved interior”, where auditoriums, studios and event spaces will cater to the city’s students.<\/p>\n

\"WatersideTerraces will wrap around the International Youth Centre<\/p>\n

Throughout the development, flood-prevention strategies influenced by Hangzhou’s existing sponge-city infrastructure will be implemented.<\/p>\n

Landscaping strategies will include permeable surfaces, planted swales and water-retention features for stormwater management.<\/p>\n

Also in Hangzhou, Zaha Hadid Architects recently completed a curving footbridge that weaves around a trio of arches<\/a> and Aedas completed a loop-shaped museum on an artificial island<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The renders are by Proloog<\/a> unless otherwise stated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A series of sweeping public buildings are set to make up the Qiantang Bay Cultural District designed by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,512,72980,460,134,28301,90489,13000,61745,61746,61747,39426],"class_list":{"0":"post-460525","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-china","14":"tag-cultural-buildings","15":"tag-design","16":"tag-entertainment","17":"tag-hangzhou","18":"tag-public-and-leisure","19":"tag-public-space","20":"tag-sectionall","21":"tag-sectionarchitecture","22":"tag-sectionnews","23":"tag-zaha-hadid-architects"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}