Zaha hadid architects designs ultra-thin concrete shell that pays homage to félix candela

Zaha hadid architects (ZHA) has constructed a sinuous concrete shell as part of the firm’s first exhibition in both mexico and latin america. the structure is titled ‘KnitCandela’, a name that — alongside the design of the pavilion — pays homage to acclaimed architect and engineer félix candela. the experimental scheme re-imagines candela’s inventive concrete shell structures through the introduction of new computational design methods and formwork technology developed at ETH zurich.

Constructed at the museo universitario arte contemporáneo (MUAC), ‘KnitCandela’ was built on an ultra-lightweight knitted formwork that was carried to mexico from switzerland in a suitcase. the project’s dynamic geometry not only references félix candela’s restaurant at xochimilco, but also the fluid forms of the colorful traditional dress of jalisco — a neighboring state fringing the pacific ocean.