No stranger to bold and controversial architectural designs, Zaha Hadid brings her creative genius in the reinterpretation of the new civil courthouse in Madrid.
The proposed new 74,500 sq m (or approximately 800,000 sq ft) Campus de la Justicia at Valdebebas in Madrid looks like a spiral of perforated metallic sheets.
Besides the obvious aesthetic function, the metallic panels are supposed to serve ventilation purposes, as well as heating and cooling the interiors of the building, according to the architect’s website. All panels have photovoltaic cells built in them.
Inside, there is a spiraling semi-circular atrium, which allows natural sunlight to illuminate the courtrooms. The atrium presides over an interior public courtyard and also connects the building with the surrounding campus. The project is scheduled for completion in 2010.
Zaha Hadid’s name was most recently in the media limelight as she unveiled her spaceship-looking Mobile Art Pavilion to the public in Hong Kong.
Developed as an exhibition space for commissioned works based on Chanel’s quilted handbag collection, the Pavilion, together with its exhibits, would wrap up their show in Hong Kong on April 5, and then travel to Tokyo, New York, London, Moscow and Paris.
(Source: inhabitat)
