FACTOR

Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid was an Iraqi-British architect. She received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004—the first woman to do so—and the Stirling Prize in 2010 and 2011. (see the June 2017 edition of the network). Before her death in 2016, she amassed an incredible body of work all around the world, including the Galaxy SOHO, an over 3.5 million square foot complex in Beijing, China which was completed in 2013.

A mixed-use office and entertainment complex, the Galaxy SOHO is comprised of four main domed structures, fused together by bridges and platforms between curving floor plates to create a fluid environment that surrounds a series of public courtyards and a larger central “canyon”. There are 18 floors in total, including three below ground, with retail units surrounding the courtyards on the lower levels, offices from floors four to 15, and restaurants and bars at the upper reaches.

The lower three levels of Galaxy SOHO house public facilities for retail and entertainment; the levels immediately above provide work spaces for clusters of innovative businesses; and the top of the building is dedicated to bars, restaurants and cafés that offer views along one of the greatest avenues of the city.