Star architect Zaha Hadid's Spanish pavillion couples architecture and engineering

Zaha Hadid鈥檚 Zaragoza Bridge Pavilion has opened in Spain.

The pavilion, which houses Expo Zaragoza, is organised around four main pods that act as both structural elements and spatial enclosures, with each pod corresponding to a specific exhibition space.

Hadid鈥檚 practice wanted the design to "couple architecture and engineering" therefore the structure is largely visible and plays an important role in defining the pavilion鈥檚 external envelope.

The star architect said: 鈥淲e like projects which are structurally ambitious and I think the Bridge Pavilion illustrates the excellent symbiotic relationship we have with engineers.

鈥淥ur ambitions towards creating fluid, dynamic and therefore complex structures has been aided by technological innovations, and applying this knowledge to the Bridge Pavilion has been a very rewarding process.鈥�

The design aims to challenge the conventional idea of a bridge being purely about engineering.

Hadid said: 鈥淎s the Bridge Pavilion is not one particular building typology, this really adds to the richness of the spaces inside.鈥�

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