FREE FLOWING FLUIDITY

HEYDAR ALIYEV CULTURAL CENTER, BAKU, AZERBAIJAN

Architects: Zaha Hadid

Also known as :- Cultural Center

Area: 101801 m²

Architectural style: Neo-futurism

Year:2007-2013

•The design of the Heydar Aliyev Center establishes a continuous, fluid relationship between its surrounding plaza and the building’s interior.

•The plaza, as the ground surface; accessible to all as part of Baku’s urban fabric, rises to envelop an equally public interior space and define a sequence of event spaces dedicated to the collective celebration of contemporary and traditional Azeri culture.

•Elaborate formations such as undulations, bifurcations, folds, and inflections modify this plaza surface into an architectural landscape that performs a multitude of functions: welcoming, embracing, and directing visitors through different levels of the interior.

•With this gesture, the building blurs the conventional differentiation between architectural object and urban landscape, building envelope and urban plaza, figure and ground, interior and exterior.

•The Heydar Aliyev Center represents a fluid form which emerges by the folding of the landscape's natural topography and by the wrapping of individual functions of the Center.

•All functions of the Center, together with entrances, are represented by folds in a single continuous surface.

• This fluid form gives an opportunity to connect the various cultural spaces whilst at the same time, providing each element of the Center with its own identity and privacy.

• As it folds inside, the skin erodes away to become an element of the interior landscape of the Center.

     •The space frame system enabled the construction of a free-form structure and saved significant time throughout the construction process, while the substructure was developed to incorporate a flexible relationship between the rigid grid of the space frame and the free-formed exterior cladding seams.

    • These seams were derived from a process of rationalizing the complex geometry, usage, and aesthetics of the project. Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polyester (GFRP) were chosen as ideal cladding materials, as they allow for the powerful plasticity of the building’s design while responding to very different functional demands related to a variety of situations: plaza, transitional zones and envelope. 

       The lighting design strategy differentiates the day and night reading of the building. During the day, the building’s volume reflects light, constantly altering the Center’s appearance according to the time of day and viewing perspective. The use of semi-reflective glass gives tantalizing glimpses within, arousing curiosity without revealing the fluid trajectory of spaces inside. 

THE CONCLUSION

       The free flowing design of the structure creates a sense of  fluidity which makes the structure seamless and boundless. The design of the structure plays an important role

       in the relationship of its interior and exterior, as the structure seems to be continuous throughout the structure from its interior as well. 

   

       Because of its free flowing design it seems to be merging with the context but also at the same time it stands out the context as it breaks the rigid grid system followed by its surrounding buildings and structure.

   

      It is a best example for 'FACADE AS SKIN' as the facade plays a very  important role in creating a relationship between the structure and the its context.

      It is also a excellent example for 'FACADE AS ENVELOPE' as the free flowing design creates a envelope all around the structure.