Zaha Hadid Architects inaugurates Infinitus Plaza in Guangdong
12/11/2021.
[Baiyun] China
metalocus, CARLOS GONZÁLEZ
metalocus, CARLOS GONZÁLEZ
Project description by Zaha Hadid Architects
Infinitus Plaza is the new global headquarters of Infinitus China. Incorporating work environments designed to nurture connectivity, creativity and entrepreneurship, the new headquarters also includes the group’s herbal medicine research facilities and safety assessment labs as well as a learning centre for conferences and exhibitions.
The 185,643 sq. m Infinitus Plaza defines a gateway to the new Baiyun Central Business District. Built on the site of the decommissioned Baiyun Airport, the new district links Guangzhou’s city centre with Feixiang Gongyuan Park and the new communities within the former airport’s redevelopment. Located adjacent to Feixiang Park station on Line 2 of the Guangzhou Metro, Infinitus Plaza straddles the metro’s sub-surface tunnel, dividing the headquarters into two buildings that interconnect at multiple levels.
Establishing collaborative work spaces that are healthier and more adaptive to new ways of working, Infinitus Plaza is designed over eight storeys as a series of infinite rings that enhance interaction and communication between all departments.
Arranged around central atria and courtyards, echoing the symbol for infinity “∞”, the design creates a variety of shared indoor and outdoor spaces that build the strong sense of community (Si Li Ji Ren) which defines Infinitus’ corporate culture.
The interconnecting bridges house a variety of flexible communal spaces for employees that promote individual and overall wellness including gym and exercise rooms, recreation and relaxation zones as well as restaurant and cafe. The bridges also connect the plaza’s offices with further shopping and dining areas.
Situated within Guangzhou’s humid subtropical monsoon climate, Infinitus Plaza has been designed and constructed to LEED Gold certification and the equivalent 3-Stars of China’s Green Building Program with its life cycle carbon emissions calculated at 15.3% embodied carbon and at 84.7% operational carbon emissions.
Optimization of the structure has reduced the amount of concrete required and increased the proportion of recyclable content. 25,088.33 tonnes of recycled materials have been used in the construction of Infinitus Plaza, primarily: steel, copper, glass, aluminium alloy profiles, gypsum products and wood.
Annual solar irradiation analysis has determined the width of the outdoor terraces to self-shade the building. This analysis has also defined the external perforated aluminium shading panels to optimise reductions in solar heat gain. These measures, together with double-insulated low-E glazing provide effective shading and heat insulation that ensures good natural light throughout the building while reducing solar heat gain and energy consumption.
Operated by the building’s smart management system and powered by photovoltaics, a network of sprinklers spray atomised particles of collected rainwater onto the ETFE membrane roof above each atrium to dissipate heat by evaporative cooling. This translucent, double-layered ETFE membrane roof incorporates a 60cm cavity of compressed air.
Activated when the membrane’s exterior surface is heated to 35°C by solar radiation, spraying for 3-4 minutes every half an hour will cool its surface temperature by 14°C, effectively lowering interior temperatures by 5°C. The rooftop solar water heating further reduces energy requirements.
The project’s system of rainwater collection, filtration and reuse also supplies micro-irrigation to the surrounding landscaping. The gardens on the roof of the 3rd, 7th and 8th floors grow herbs and plants native to the region and are naturally irrigated. These outdoor communal areas are linked together with the rooftop jogging track and walking paths. Green roofs comprise 49.36% of the project’s total roof area.
Equipped to monitor temperature, carbon dioxide, PM2.5 particulates and other pollutants, the building’s smart management system with fresh air linkage ensures indoor air quality, detecting the level of occupancy and automatically adjusting for optimal comfort with minimal energy consumption while also learning to accurately predict daily occupancy trends for increased efficiencies.
Anchoring Guangzhou’s new Baiyun Central Business District as a national centre for China’s health and wellness industries, Infinitus China’s new headquarters combines innovative design and construction technologies with proven sustainability strategies to create new work environments that unite all departments and enhance communication throughout the group.
Zaha Hadid, (Bagdad, 31 October 1950 – Miami, 31 March 2016) founder of Zaha Hadid Architects, was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize (considered to be the Nobel Prize of architecture) in 2004 and is internationally known for both her theoretical and academic work.
Each of her dynamic and innovative projects builds on over thirty years of revolutionary exploration and research in the interrelated fields of urbanism, architecture and design. Hadid’s interest lies in the rigorous interface between architecture, landscape and geology as her practice integrates natural topography and human-made systems, leading to experimentation with cutting-edge technologies. Such a process often results in unexpected and dynamic architectural forms.
Education: Hadid studied architecture at the Architectural Association from 1972 and was awarded the Diploma Prize in 1977.
Teaching: She became a partner of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, taught at the AA with OMA collaborators Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis, and later led her own studio at the AA until 1987. Since then she has held the Kenzo Tange Chair at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University; the Sullivan Chair at the University of Illinois, School of Architecture, Chicago; guest professorships at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Hamburg; the Knolton School of Architecture, Ohio and the Masters Studio at Columbia University, New York. In addition, she was made Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Fellow of the American Institute of Architecture and Commander of the British Empire, 2002. She is currently Professor at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria and was the Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor of Architectural Design at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
Awards: Zaha Hadid’s work of the past 30 years was the subject of critically-acclaimed retrospective exhibitions at New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 2006, London’s Design Museum in 2007 and the Palazzo della Ragione, Padua, Italy in 2009. Her recently completed projects include the MAXXI Museum in Rome; which won the Stirling award in 2010. Hadid’s outstanding contribution to the architectural profession continues to be acknowledged by the most world’s most respected institutions. She received the prestigious ‘Praemium Imperiale’ from the Japan Art Association in 2009, and in 2010, the Stirling Prize – one of architecture’s highest accolades – from the Royal Institute of British Architects. Other recent awards include UNESCO naming Hadid as an ‘Artist for Peace’ at a ceremony in their Paris headquarters last year. Also in 2010, the Republic of France named Hadid as ‘Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ in recognition of her services to architecture, and TIME magazine included her in their 2010 list of the ‘100 Most Influential People in the World’. This year’s ‘Time 100’ is divided into four categories: Leaders, Thinkers, Artists and Heroes – with Hadid ranking top of the Thinkers category.