Introduction

The Heydar Aliyev Centre, constructed over 57,519m², is a complex of buildings designed by the
Iraqi-British architect, Zaha Hadid, which stands out for its architecture and fluid, curved style
which avoids sharp angles. The centre bears the name of Heydar Aliyev,

Concept
With its light appearance, the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre gives the sense of being all form,
with no structure, but its forms hide extreme engineering. A double-layered spatial structure
which is very flexible is the principal support for the double curve that travels smoothly along the
top and bottom of the outer shell, hiding the structural frame and highlighting the surface, rather
than the structure, as if the building were all effect and no cause.

The Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre represents a fluid form which emerges from the folding of the
natural landscape of the countryside and from the wrapping of the individual functions of the
interior. All the functions, together with the inputs, are represented as folds in a single,
continuous exterior surface. This fluid form provides the opportunity to connect the diverse
cultural spaces and, at the same time, proportion to each element of the Centre its own identity
and privacy. Following the interior folds, the skin wears away to convert into more of an element
of the interior environment. According to its principal contractor, DIA Holding, the forms of the
57,519m² Cultural Centre give the impression of the lightness of a handkerchief waving in free-
fall.
 Spaces

As explained by Zaha Hadid in a conference, the Bakú complex actually consists of three
buildings: a conference centre, a museum and a library, connected by an interior space and by the
curved and “fluid” exterior skin which snakes across the whole structure.

The project, which is destined to play an integral role in the intellectual life of the city, houses a
conference centre with auditorium and meeting rooms, a library, a museum, a restaurant and
parking.

Culture Plaza
The design of the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre establishes a continuous and fluid relationship
between the surrounding square and the inside of the building. The Plaza, accessible to the public
as part of the urban fabric of Bakú, surrounds an equally public interior space and defines a
sequence of events spaces. The building blurs the conventional lines between architectural object
and urban landscape, encompassing the building and the urban square, the outline and core, inside

Interior

The interior of the centre is characterised by continuous surfaces which twist to transform the
walls into ceilings and slopes. The ground floor comprises various lobby spaces intended to
create public spaces which unite the different aspects of the centre’s programme. From these
reception rooms, the theme of fusion continues throughout the interior of the building, with
continuous, flowing surfaces.

The floors transform into ramps and walls, rotating on soffits and ceilings, to later continue
twisting and advancing out of sight, forming endless white landscapes.

Library

The library is orientated North, to take advantage of the natural light, and has its own entrance.
The levels dedicated to reading and archives are stacked one on top of each other, wrapped in the
building’s outer layers of skin. The floors are descended via connecting ramps and create a
continuous path of circulation. The library and museum are also connected by a ramp which
travels across the ground floor of the library to the first floor of the museum. The library is also
connected to the Conference Hall by a bridge which “flies” over the entrance hall. Its form
reaches down to the Culture Plaza, supported to create the necessary inclination, and leading to
the seats of the outdoor space.

Auditorium

The auditorium and its associated facilities have direct access to the Plaza. The main entrance is
found in the space carved out of exterior layer, “stretching” between the volume of the museum
and the tower of the library. The secondary entrance is found on the North side of the building.

Structure

The building is principally comprised of two systems which work together: a concrete structure
combined with a spatial structure system. With the intention of creating large-scale, free spaces of
columns which allow the visitor to experiment with the fluidity of the interior, vertical structural
elements are absorbed by the walls and curtain wall system. The specific geometry of the surfaces
encourages unconventional structural solutions, such as the introduction of curved “starter
columns” to achieve the inverse shell of the surface from the floor to the West of the building,
and the “duck tail” resulting from the narrowing of the cantilevered beams which support the skin
of the building on the East side.
The spatial framework system allows the construction a free-form structure and was also
designed to save time throughout the construction process, while the substructure was developed
to incorporate a flexible relationship between the rigid grid-work of the spatial structure and the
seams of the free-form exterior cladding. These seams are obtained through a process of
rationalisation of the geometric complex, the use and the aesthetics of the project. Fibreglass
reinforced with concrete or polyester were chosen as the ideal cladding materials, as they allow
for the powerful plasticity of the building’s design, while responding to a diverse range of related
functional requirements: the Plaza, transition zones and the building’s wrapping.

Materials
The building, whose smooth, distorted grid-work of polyester-reinforced fibreglass panels do not
have visible connections, appears less “as built” and more “as landed”.

In the construction, they used 121,000m³ of reinforced concrete, 194,000 formworks and 19,000
tonnes of steel molds. To create the shape of the external skin, 5,500 tonnes of structural steel
were required, creating the base for a surface of 40,000m² formed of panels of fibreglass
reinforced with polyester or concrete. There were a total of around 17,000 individual panels with
various geometries.

Lighting

To emphasise the continuous relationship between the exterior and interior of the building, the
illumination of the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre was carefully considered. During the day, the
building reflects the light, constantly altering its appearance according to the time and the
perspective. The use of semi-reflective windows allows the interior to be perceived without
revealing the trajectory of the spaces. By night, the building is gradually transformed by the
illumination which flows from the interior, which develops the formal composition to reveal its
contents and maintain the fluidity between the interior and exterior.