Nanjing International Youth Cultural Centre / Zaha Hadid Architects

Architects: Zaha Hadid Architects: Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher
Area: 465000 m²
Year: 2018
Photographs: Hufton + Crow, Jumeirah
Architect of Record: China Architecture Design & Research Group
Lighting Consultant: Brandston Partnership
Structural Engineer: Buro Happold, China Architecture Design & Research Group
MEP Engineer: Buro Happold, China Architecture Design & Research Group
Main Contractor: China State Construction Engineering Corporation Division 8, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Division 3
Vertical Transportation Consultant: Dunbar and Boardman
Acoustics Consultant: Zhejiang University
Landscape Architect: SWA Group
ZHA Consulting Associate: Cristiano Ceccato
ZHA Project Architect: Shao-Wei Huang
ZHA Lead Facades & Envelope: Shao-wei Huang, Lydia Kim
ZHA Lead Conference Centre: Melike Altinisik
ZHA Lead Towers & Podium: Garin O’Aivazian
ZHA Lead Interiors: May-Jinqui Qin
ZHA Lead Landscape & Urbanism: Carolina Lopez-Blanco
ZHA Lead Site Supervision: Ed Gaskin
ZHA Competition Team: Garin O’Aivazian, Jalal El-Ali, Kyla Farrell, Maria Tsironi, Matthew Richardson, Melike Altinisik, Meng Chan Tang, Mirco Becker, Mostafa El Sayed, Paolo Gamba, Saman Saffarian, Shajay Bhooshan, Shao- wei Huang, Shyamala Duraisingam, Spyridon Kaprinis, Suryansh Chandra, Yevgeniya Pozigun
ZHA Project Team: Alexandros Kallegias, Ashwin Shah, Carlos Michel-Medina, Carlos Piles Puig, Chao Wei, Charbel Chagoury, Christy Yin, David Doody, Duarte Reino, Elena Scripelliti, Emma Chen, Ermis Chalvatzis, Eugene Leung, Frenji Koshy, George Frenji, Ho-Ping Hsia, Hongdi Li, Igor Pantic, Jamie Mann, John Randle, Julia McLeod, Katharina Hieger, Konstantinos Mouratidis, Leonid Krykhtin, Leo Wu, Mattia Gambardella, Michael Grau, Michael Sims, Mostafa El Sayed, Mu Ren, Nassim Eshaghi, Natassa Lianou, Nicholette Chan, Niqui Berkowski, Patryk Ruszkowski, Sebastian Andia, Shajay Bhooshan, Soomeen Hahm, Spyridon Kaprinis, Vincent Nowak, Yuchen Zhang, Yue Shi, Yun Zhang
ZHA Site Supervision Team: Juan Liu, David Chen, Liyuan Zhang, Vincenzo Cocomero, Xi Wang, Xin Ji, Yan Geng
Facade Engineer: Buro Happold
Theatre Consultant: China Art and Technology Institute
Design: Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher
ZHA Project Director: Nils-Peter Fischer
City: Nanjing
Country: China

The Nanjing International Youth Cultural Centre, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, is a 465,000 m² mixed-use complex in Hexi New Town, Nanjing’s CBD, integrating urban development, parkland, and Jiangxinzhou Island via a pedestrian bridge. It features a 106,500 m² conference centre, two towers totaling 258,500 m², and a 100,000 m² basement area, forming the CBD’s riverfront terminus. The 315-meter, 68-floor tower houses offices and the Jumeirah Hotel, while the 255-meter, 59-floor tower contains a four-star hotel, both connected by a five-level podium with the Cultural Centre. The towers transition from the CBD’s vertical skyline to the river’s horizontal landscape, with a rhomboid fiber-concrete facade enhancing sculptural depth and daylight entry. Completed in 34 months, the project used ZHA’s BIM expertise to reduce on-site construction to 18 months. Opened for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games, the Jumeirah Hotel Nanjing now occupies the tallest tower as the city’s premier luxury hotel.

Nanjing international youth cultural centre / zaha hadid architects

The Nanjing International Youth Cultural Centre is situated along the river in Hexi New Town, Nanjing’s newly developed central business district (CBD). The project comprises a 106,500 m² conference centre, two towers totaling 258,500 m², a 100,000 m² basement area, and a plaza that serves as the terminus of the CBD’s main axis on the riverfront.

The masterplan emphasizes continuity and connectivity between the urban fabric of Hexi New Town, the riverside parkland, and the rural landscapes of Jiangxinzhou Island in the Yangtze River, which are linked by a pedestrian bridge.

The Nanjing International Youth Cultural Centre spans a 5.2-hectare site with a total floor area of 465,000 square meters. The taller tower, rising 315 meters over 68 floors, accommodates office spaces and the Jumeirah Hotel, while the shorter 255-meter, 59-floor tower contains a four-star hotel. Both towers are connected by a five-level mixed-use podium, which houses the Cultural Centre.

The Cultural Centre consists of four primary programmatic elements—a Conference Hall, an Auditorium, a Multifunctional Hall, and a Guest Zone—arranged as independent volumes around a central courtyard. At higher levels, these elements merge into a unified structure, while at ground level, pedestrians can move through an open landscape. The Conference Hall, with a 2,100-seat capacity, features a multi-purpose proscenium stage designed for conferences, cultural performances, and theatrical events. The 500-seat Auditorium is optimized for orchestral performances as well as shows utilizing audio equipment.

The towers establish a dynamic transition from the vertical skyline of the urban CBD to the horizontal topography of the river. The taller tower serves as a landmark, defining the plaza’s position within Hexi New Town’s urban grid and the Nanjing skyline. The fluid architectural design of the mixed-use podium and conference centre seamlessly connects the natural riverfront landscape with the urban streetscape of the new CBD. This composition creates a contrast between the verticality of the city and the horizontality of the river and surrounding landscape.

At the junction between the towers and podium, the glass facade transitions into a grid of rhomboid fiber-concrete panels, giving the podium and conference centre a solid, sculptural presence. This design choice accentuates the dynamic form of the structure while allowing natural daylight to enter the building’s interior.

The centre is China’s first fully top-down/bottom-up tower construction, where building progressed simultaneously upward and downward from street level. Completed in just 34 months, the project leveraged Zaha Hadid Architects’ expertise in 3D digital BIM (Building Information Modelling) design and construction management, reducing the on-site construction timeline by a year to only 18 months.

The 465,000 m² Nanjing International Youth Cultural Centre was initially opened for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. The tallest tower now houses the Jumeirah Hotel Nanjing, a leading luxury hotel brand, which has established itself as the city’s premier hospitality destination.