For Generation of Innovators
Series of glossy images have been released of the Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)-designed Jockey Club Innovation Tower (JCIT) in Hong Kong. Taken by renowned architectural photographer Iwan Baan, the photographs document the new form coming to life as the first students begin taking their lessons.
JCIT brings together the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design and the Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation into a single 15,000 sq m, 15-storey unit, fostering collaboration and encouraging students and teachers from different disciplines to brainstorm ideas and learn from one another’s work.
ZHA’s design ‘dissolves the typical typology of the tower/podium into a more fluid composition’ blending these elements together through the integration of internal and external courtyards. These smaller social spaces support the larger array of exhibition forums, studios, theatre and official recreational facilities.
The Hong Kong office of Arup conducted the engineering on the project. An engineering statement released by Arup reads: “The façade is one of the key elements of this building. Weekly design workshops were often focused on the verification of design information provided by the architects against BIM information built from the onsite surveying of the structural elements, building services and façade structures.”
The structural engineering of JCIT included the tower overhanging a footpath and the raked elevation on the north of the site, with foundations not permitted within the path. In response, Arup designed the superstructure to use three main cores and beam-column frames for lateral load and eccentric tower loads. Raking columns are used in some areas to handle loads from tilting. Discrete transfer beams have been used on the third floor to free up the lower two levels as much as possible.
Zaha Hadid Architects