Spring 2013

Architect Zaha Hadid

Case study analysis presenting the structural and iconic value of the Cultural Centre to Baku. The Center shall conduct consistent activities in the field of profound research and broad promotion of the nation-building philosophy and Azerbaijanism ideology of Heydar Aliyev, the recognized national leader of the Azerbaijani people, as well as encourage studies in the Azerbaijani history, language, culture, national and spiritual values.

Submitted to : Tina PujaraDate : 14/1/13B.Arch III YearSpring SemesterAniruddh Jain (10110006)Jha Ashutosh (10110025)Kumar Snehanshu (10110029)

Contents

Details

The City

Climate

Religion

Architecture

Zaha Hadid

Hadid’s Philosophy

Computational Fluid Dynamics : The tool

Program

Space Frame Roofing

Innovative Roof Cladding

Acoustics

Bibliography

Details : Specifications

Architect : Zaha Hadid

Location : Baku, Azerbaijan

Client :: Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Construction Started : 2007

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Z. Hadid

CASE STUDY : B.Arch III Year Spring. Aniruddh, Ashutosh, Snehanshu 1

Spring 2013

Construction Completed : May 10, 2012

Building Area : 57,519 sqm

Site Area : 111,292 sqm

Footprint : 15,514 sqm

City : Baku

Located along the Caspian Sea above Iran, Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan and its largest city. The financial center for the old Soviet Empire, this 1,500-year-old metropolis once produced half of the world's oil supply. Twenty years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan is now emerging from the shadows of Russian rule. Backed by oil reserves worth nearly half a trillion dollars, Baku is attempting to reinvent the country's reputation by rebuilding the entire city!

This staggering $6 billion a year redevelopment plan starts with one of the most ambitious construction projects ever attempted: the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center. Designed by world-

renowned architect Zaha Hadid, this 970,000-square-foot complex will house a 1,200-seat concert hall, national museum and library all under one roof — creating a structure unlike anything the world has ever seen. Defined by a 243-foot-tall continuously folding structure, the building's seamless curves will flow in one solid surface to form the floors, ceiling and surrounding landscape, where exterior walls blend — and then disappear altogether — into the city's outdoor cultural plaza.

Three miles to the southwest, another mind-blowing development: the Flame Towers. This stunning $350 million trio of towers is designed to look like a series of flames, symbolizing Azerbaijan's long tradition of fire worship. Rising nearly 800 feet, the Flame Towers will be among the tallest skyscrapers in the country. But it's their constantly curving design that makes these some of the most challenging structures ever attempted. Build it Bigger arrives on-site at a critical juncture in construction as crews are topping off both projects' jaw-dropping roofs. If the team succeeds, Baku will reinvent its image and emerge as the world's next iconic city.

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Z. Hadid

CASE STUDY : B.Arch III Year Spring. Aniruddh, Ashutosh, Snehanshu 2

Spring 2013

Climate : The Dangerous Winds

Baku has a subtropical[citation needed] semi-arid climate with hot and dry summers, cold and occasionally wet winters, and strong winds all year long. However, unlike many other cities with this climate, Baku does not see extremely hot summers. This is largely because of its northerly latitude and the fact that it is located on a peninsula on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Baku and the Absheron Peninsula on which it is situated, is the most arid

part of Azerbaijan (precipitation here is around or less than 200 mm (8 in) a year). The majority of the light annual precipitation occurs in seasons other than summer, but none of these months are particularly wet. During Soviet times, Baku with its long hours of sunshine and dry healthy climate, was a vacation destination where citizens could enjoy beaches or relax in now-dilapidated spa complexes overlooking the Caspian Sea. The city's past as a Soviet industrial center has left it as one of the most polluted cities in the world.

At the same time Baku is noted as a very windy city throughout the year, and gale-force winds, the cold northern wind khazri and the warm southern wind gilavar are typical here in all seasons. Indeed, the city is renowned for its fierce winter snow storms and harsh winds.[7] The speed of the khazri sometimes reaches 144 kph (89 mph), which can cause damage to crops, trees and roof tiles.[16]

The daily mean temperature in July and August averages 26.4 °C (79.5 °F), and there is very little rainfall during that season. During summer the khazri sweeps through, bringing desired coolness. Winter is cold and occasionally wet, with the daily mean temperature in January and February averaging 4.3 °C (39.7 °F). During winter the khazri sweeps through; driven by masses of polar air; temperatures on the coast frequently drop below freezing and make it feel bitterly cold. Winter snow storms do occur but are rare and snow usually remains only for a few days after each snowfall.

Religion

The

urban landscape of Baku is shaped by many communities. The religion with the largest community of followers is Islam. The majority of

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Z. Hadid

CASE STUDY : B.Arch III Year Spring. Aniruddh, Ashutosh, Snehanshu 3

Spring 2013

the Muslims are Shia Muslims, and the Republic of Azerbaijan has the second highest Shia population percentage in the world afterIran

Architecture : Baku

Baku has wildly varying architecture, ranging from the Old City core to modern buildings and the spacious layout of the Baku port. Many of the city's most impressive buildings were built during the early 20th Century, when architectural elements of the European styles were combined in eclectic style. Baku thus has an original and unique appearance, earning it a reputation as the Paris of the East'.

Late modern and postmodern architecture began to appear in the early 2000s. With economic

development, old buildings such as Atlant House were razed to make way for new ones. Buildings with all-glass shells have appeared around the city, the most prominent examples being the SOCAR Tower and Flame Towers. These projects also brought the attention of international media as notable programs asDiscovery Channel's Extreme Engineering featured changes in the city.

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Z. Hadid

CASE STUDY : B.Arch III Year Spring. Aniruddh, Ashutosh, Snehanshu 4

Spring 2013

The Old City of Baku, also known as the Walled City of Baku, refers to the ancient Baku settlement. Most of the walls and towers, strengthened after the Russian conquest in 1806, survived. This section is picturesque, with its maze of narrow alleys and ancient buildings: the cobbled streets past the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, two caravansaries, the baths and the Juma Mosque (which used to house the Azerbaijan National Carpet and Arts Museum but is now a mosque again). The old town core also has dozens of small mosques, often without any particular sign to distinguish them as such.

In 2003, UNESCO placed the Inner City on the List of World Heritage in Danger, citing damage from a November 2000 earthquake, poor conservation as well as "dubious" restoration efforts.

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Z. Hadid

CASE STUDY : B.Arch III Year Spring. Aniruddh, Ashutosh, Snehanshu 5

Spring 2013

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Computational fluid dynamics, usually abbreviated as CFD, is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods andalgorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate the interaction of liquids and gases with surfaces defined by boundary conditions. With high-speed supercomputers, better solutions can be achieved. Ongoing research yields software that improves the accuracy and speed of complex simulation scenarios such as transonic orturbulent flows. Initial validation of such software is performed using a wind tunnel with the final validation coming in full-scale testing, e.g. flight tests.

Zaha Hadid

Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid, DBE (Arabic: زها حديد Zahā Ḥadīd; born 31 October 1950) is an Iraqi-British architect. She received thePritzker Architecture Prize in 2004—the first woman to do so—and the Stirling Prize in 2010 and 2011. Her buildings are distinctivelyfuturistic, characterized by the "powerful, curving forms of her elongated structures"with "multiple perspective points and fragmented geometry to evoke the chaos of modern life"

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Z. Hadid

CASE STUDY : B.Arch III Year Spring. Aniruddh, Ashutosh, Snehanshu 6

Spring 2013

Program

The Center houses a conference hall (auditorium), a gallery hall and a museum. The project is intended to play an integral role in the intellectual life of the city. Located close to the city center, the site plays a pivotal role in the redevelopment of Baku.

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.

Space Frame Roofing : The Wind counter

Reflecting the topography of the site, the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center rises from the landscape, folding on a single, continuous surface to form the building's revolutionary geometric shape. To blur the boundary between building and ground, engineers were tasked with assembling more than 9 acres of curved steel segments. Flowing in all directions, this roof forms the building's ceilings, walls and stairs, making it one of the most complex structures ever attempted.

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Z. Hadid

CASE STUDY : B.Arch III Year Spring. Aniruddh, Ashutosh, Snehanshu 7

Spring 2013

Innovative Roof Cladding

Literally translated, Baku means "wind-pounded city," and the capital is indeed home to frequent windstorms, with airstreams reaching upward of 90 miles per hour. Under these harsh conditions, typical roof tiling would blow right off the building. To deal with these extremes, engineers are cladding the cultural center with double-layered panels made of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP for short) — a high-tech, lightweight material endowed with exceptional strength. Each panel is formed to match a unique position along the constantly curving roof and then firmly secured to each neighboring panel. The end result: a singular skin that wraps the entire building and is strong enough to withstand even hurricane-force winds.

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Z. Hadid

CASE STUDY : B.Arch III Year Spring. Aniruddh, Ashutosh, Snehanshu 8

Spring 2013

Acoustics : Even in this form

The cultural center's main hall is designed to accommodate a wide variety of events, from cultural performances to keynote speeches. To meet this challenge, architects clad the 226,000-square-foot room's interior with rotating panels to modify the acoustical character of the space. This unique design allows the room to transform seamlessly from opera hall to convention center.

Bibliography

Wikipedia Heydar Aliyev Cultural CenterWikipedia Zaha HadidWikipedia Computational Fluid DyanmicsArch Daily Heydar Aliyev Cultural CenterOfficial Website, http://www.zaha-hadid.com/architecture/heydar-aliyev-cultural-centre/

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Z. Hadid

CASE STUDY : B.Arch III Year Spring. Aniruddh, Ashutosh, Snehanshu 9