Zahner provides design consultation for China Biennial — SPIKY by SO-IL

Sixteen perforated conical forms adjust the landscape of the inspired architectural landscape of the 5th Chinese Architectural Biennial. Designed by Jing Liu of Solid Objective – Idenburg Liu, Zahner played a role in the design-engineering aspects of the project, which was completed for the 5th China International Architectural Biennial 2013.

The competition features nine other architectural teams, including SO-IL, Herzog & de Meuron, Zaha Hadid, Mohsen Mostafavi, Wang Shu, MODU, Zhu Bingren, and Oyler Wu.

Our team was part of a design and engineering charrette with Michael Stein of Schlaich Bergermann, and Jing Liu, Lee Ann Custer, and Ilias Papageorgiou of SO-IL. The installation ‘SPIKY’ is a series of canopy forms built from an expanded metal mesh. The design is a result of intensive local material research, a use of cutting techniques to perforate flat sheets, expanded by gravity, and suspended on steel poles.