Zaha Hadid Architects will be showcasing their recently completed floating staircase along with renowned pieces from the ZHA archive at their new showroom in the ZHA gallery in London. The opening of the showroom will be previewed as part of the London Festival of Architecture from 3rd-5th July. You can register for your free place here on the London Festival of Architecture website. Apart from the floating staircase, visitors will be able to see: The Peak Site Plan (1983), Aqua Table (2005), Seamless Collection (2006), Belu Bench (2005), Lotus (2008), Cirrus (2008), Kloris (2008), and Seoul Desk & Table (2009).
The floating staircase maintains the lightness of the gallery space as it appears to float seamlessly into the showroom. Each suspended step is articulated as a separate ribbon cast from Ductal®, an ultra-high performance recyclable concrete with exceptional structural as well as aesthetic qualities. The tensile strength of Ductal® allows the ribbons to remain relatively thin with each tread cast from a single adjustable mould that was engineered in Italy by Il Cantiere. The floating staircase has been designed to be demountable.
The London Festival of Architecture is a city-wide celebration of architecture and architectural talent in the UK capital. It brings architects and communities together to examine how to make London a better place. Being Olympic year, the theme of the 2012 Festival - ‘The Playful City’ - is obviouly a response to the presence of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London.
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