Jul 17, 2013 08:11 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Hong Kong Polytechnic University will feature a uniquely designed Innovation Tower that will inspire all the student designers at the school. The 76 meter-high tower is being built to house the institution's design school and is part of a plan to transform Hong Kong into a leading design hub of Asia.

Renowned Iraqi-British architect, Zaha Hadid's nearly-completed Jockey Club Innovation Tower is an improvised version of the tower-and-podium typology, 'with a concrete podium and the louvered tower visually united by flowing forms.'

"The Innovation Tower design dissolves the classic typology of the tower and the podium into a seamless piece," Hadid said. "The design unashamedly aims to stimulate a vision of possibilities for the future whilst reflecting the history of the institution."

The tower located at the north-eastern tip of the university campus will provide 12,000 square metres of net operational floor area and accommodate about 1,800 staff and students.

Apart from the design school, the new tower will also include a cluster of other design- and innovation-related specializations such as Advertising, Environment & Interior Design, Industrial and Product Design, Communication and Interactive and Digital Media. 

The tower will provide an amiable environment to PolyU Design staff and students and facilitate inter-disciplinary research and education in the field of design.

Features of the tower:

- 13 Communal Viewing Lounge and School of Design Executive Offices
11&12 Teaching Spaces and Offices
- 5-10 School of Design Studios, Labs and Offices
- 4 Center for Inter-Departmental Design Collaboration Activities
- 3 Classrooms and Lecture Halls
- 2 (Podium) Design Museum and Exhibition Space
G&1 School of Design Workshops

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