Pritzker prize winner Zaha Hadid, architect of the winning 2020 Japanese National Stadium proposal, and Miami's upcoming One Thousand Museum Tower, has recently completed the Jockey Club Innovation Tower (JCIT). The fluid structure is apart of Hong Kong's Polytechnic University campus. Zaha Hadid Architects have released images of JCIT, documented by renowned photographers Iwan Baan, studio Doublespace, Virgile Simon Bertrand, and videography by Dan Chung. Enjoy!
The 15-storey, 15,000 sq. m. tower accommodates more than 1,800 students and staff, with facilities for design education and innovation that include: design studios, labs and workshops, exhibition areas, multi-functional classrooms, lecture theatre and communal lounge.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus has developed its urban fabric over the last 50 years with the university’s many faculties housed in visually coherent, yet very different buildings. The JCIT creates a new urban space that enriches the diversity of university life and expresses the dynamism of an institution looking to the future.
The JCIT design dissolves the typical typology of the tower/podium into a more fluid composition. Interior and exterior courtyards create informal spaces to meet and interact, complementing the large exhibition forums, studios, theatre and recreational facilities.
Students, staff and visitors move through 15 levels of studios, workshops, labs, exhibition and event areas within the school. Interior glazing and voids bring transparency and connectivity, while circulation routes and communal spaces have been arranged to encourage interaction between the many learning clusters and design disciplines.
With its contribution of HK$249 million towards the construction of JCIT, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust also funds the Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation.