Zaha Hadid Architects's Leeza Soho (and the world's tallest atrium) opens in Beijing
20 November, 2019
Leeza Soho, a skyscraper designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid opened in southwest Beijing on Tuesday, November 19.
The building contains the world's tallest atrium, which twists through the centre of the 45-storey tower at 194.15 metres.
The building was designed by Hadid before her death in 2016.
"Adjacent to the business district’s rail station at the intersection of five new lines currently under construction on Beijing’s Subway network, Leeza Soho’s site is diagonally dissected by an underground Subway service tunnel," explains Zaha Hadid Architects.
"Straddling this tunnel, the tower’s design divides its volume into two halves enclosed by a single facade shell. The emerging space between these two halves extends the full height of the tower, creating the world’s tallest atrium at 194.15m which rotates through the building as the tower rises to realign the upper floors with Lize Road to the north."
The building is located 50 kilometres north of the Beijing Daxing International Airport, which was also designed by Hadid.
t opened its doors in September 2019 and is forecast to serve 72 million passengers a year by 2025, with ambitious expansion plans to take that up to 100 million, and 4 million tonnes of cargo annually.
Hadid designed the airport in the shape of a starfish, with five connected concourses, making it the world’s largest single-building airport.
The late architect is behind a number of buildings and structures in the UAE, including the Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi and The Opus in Business Bay, Dubai. For the 842-metre-long Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Hadid took inspiration from sand dunes to create its curved arches.
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