Zaha Hadid Architects’ First Exhibition in Latin America Transported to Mexico in a Suitcase
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Zaha Hadid Architects is presenting “KnitCandela,” as part of its first exhibition in Latin America at the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporaneo (MUAC) in Mexico City.KnitCandela is an experimental structure — a thin, sinuous concrete shell built on ulZaha Hadid Architects’ First Exhibition in Latin America Transported to Mexico in a Suitcase
Zaha Hadid Architects is presenting “KnitCandela,” as part of its first exhibition in Latin America at the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporaneo (MUAC) in Mexico City.KnitCandela is an experimental structure — a thin, sinuous concrete shell built on ultra-lightweight knitted formwork — that pays homage to the Spanish-Mexican architect and engineer Felix Candela. It was carried to Mexico from Switzerland in a suitcase.KnitCandela reimagines Candela’s inventive concrete shell structures through the introduction of new computational design methods and innovative KnitCrete formwork technology, according to ZHA.“The dynamic geometry of KnitCandela’s shell is inspired by the fluid forms of the colorful traditional dress of Jalisco, Mexico. While the structure’s local builders nicknamed the project 'sarape' (a striped scarf that originated in Mexico), KnitCandela’s form references his acclaimed restaurant at Xochimilco; a concept he further developed in several of his subsequent projects,” writes ZHA in a press release.KnitCandela has been designed and constructed by multiple teams in Europe and Mexico, harnessing the collective expertise in computational design, engineering, and fabrication.“While Candela relied on combining hyperbolic paraboloid surfaces (“hypars”) to produce reusable formworks leading to a reduction of construction waste, KnitCrete allows for the realization of a much wider range of anticlastic geometries. With this cable-net and fabric formwork system, expressive, freeform concrete surfaces can now be constructed efficiently, without the need for complex moulds. KnitCandela’s thin, double-curved concrete shell with a surface area of almost 50 sq.m. and weighing more than 5 tonnes, was applied on a KnitCrete formwork of only 55 kg. The knitted fabric of the formwork system was carried to Mexico from Switzerland in a suitcase,” writes ZHA.“The 50 sq.m. of textile shuttering of KnitCandela's formwork is comprised of four long strips ranging from 15 m to 26 m in length. Each of the four strips is a seamless, double-layered textile produced as a single piece. Two layers of textile fulfil different tasks. The visible inside is an aesthetic surface that displays a colourful pattern and reveals traces of the supporting cable-net falsework system. The exterior surface fulfils technical requirements by including features for inserting, guiding and controlling the position of additional formwork elements,” describes ZHA.The exhibition is on view through March 3, 2019, at Museo Universitario Arte Contemporaneo (MUAC), Insurgentes Sur 3000 Centro Cultural Universitario, Delegacion Coyoacan, C.P. 04510 Ciudad de MexicoFor more information, visit: https://muac.unam.mx/Click on the slideshow for a sneak peek at the installation. http://www.blouinartinfo.com Founder: Louise Blouin Read more