Zaha Hadid's Twisting Tower: JCIT, Hong Kong

An uneven stack of giant sun caps, or perhaps, paper dishes with shiny cutlery peeping from in between them to gleam in the sun – this is the impression that the form of the JCIT building evokes at first look. As we move towards the entrance at the southern end, the stack morphs into a giant ship, cutting through the sea, all the floor bands swooshing in upward motion to form a sharp bow to its hull. As one finally enters the building through its intimate entrance porch, one is sucked into a maze of seemingly unending lines, passages, stairways, escalators and lobbies all crisscrossing and swooshing in gentle upward or downward motion. This internal maze is lit up at every level by ribbons of natural and artificial light, swooshing across in harmony with the other elements. The natural light coming from randomly placed rows of full height glazing, and the artificial one from long ribbons of lighting concealed in the ceilings. This entire chaotic interior, from floor to ceiling, is done in a monochrome of peaceful white shades. There is no denying that, inside out, this building evokes a sense of awe and intrigue – a trademark of every Zaha Hadid design.

Fifteen storeys high and having 15,000 sq m of built space, the JCIT is located on a tight, irregular plot at the north eastern strip of the university campus. Major roadways interchange along its northern side, while the university football ground bounds the southern side. Essentially a podium and tower structure, it does away with the boxy typology by getting the floors to morph from base to tip gradually in a fluid progression. This also makes the floors shift away from the ground central position at every level, causing its vertical axis to appear tilted and twisted. The line of placement of glazing on the facade follows different perspective points at each floor level, making them appear and diminish randomly. The entire scheme makes the building appear like an uneven stacking floors which is about to topple! The interiors carry the play of broken geometry and multiple perspectives to another level, where it appears impossible to trace any line, passage, stairway, railing or just any space to its end. Even the floors appear to be non horizontal, swooping upwards or downwards as part of this crazy maze. Remarkably, all this is achieved while sticking to basic rules of building layout like centralisation of services and transportation, voids and courts for interior lighting and connect. Another striking aspect of this design is that it totally downplays the verticality of the tower, through the eye catching precariously stacked, horizontal floor bands. It’s amazing what a little twist in the structure can achieve visually.

The Jockey Club Innovation Centre, as part of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus, houses the HK PolyU School of Design as well as the Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation. Studios, workshops, labs, exhibition and event areas are arranged on 15 floors of space around courts, voids, stairs, escalators and elevators so as to encourage interactions between students and disciplines. The tower’s design aspires to encourage a multidisciplinary environment and establish a culture of free thinking, research and enquiry. In the words of the design team, “the JCIT creates a new urban space which enriches the diversity of university life and expresses the dynamism of an institution looking to the future”. The atmospherics are set in the endless lines and boundless spaces of the JCIT for the innovators of the future to attain their creative Nirvana.