Zaha Hadid has designed two new towers for Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The matching towers rise to a height of 44 stories and, if the project goes ahead, will be built to a budget of US$600 million.
Assuming they get the green light, the mixed-use buildings will primarily comprise high-end residential units, with a ground-floor retail space, a 69-suite hotel and an underground aquarium. In addition, an art gallery, museum and sculptural gardens outdoors are also slated for the build.
If the towers' tapering form invokes a sense of déjà vu, it's probably because they bear an uncanny resemblance to Hadid's other recently-revealed Australian project, Brisbane's Grace on Coronation. Both sets of towers were commissioned by the same developer, the Sunland Group, and will only be separated by just over an hour's drive.
"Each residential tower is designed as if it were an organic, living form, with sinuous lines interlacing upwards from the tapered base, creating a sense of flow and movement," says Sunland's Sahba Abedian. "The museum’s sweeping organic forms reflect the landscape of its unique location, symbolic of the dunal shapes distinctive to the Broadwater."
According to Dezeen, the project has been submitted to Gold Coast City Council for approval.
Source: Zaha Hadid Architects via Arch Daily
The trouble is that the locals have to look at these buildings for decades to come. Architects should be mindful of this when proposing designs that are trying to be different. A balance of restraint and innovation is always a good thing. Predictability not so much.