Over 300 attendees from around the world joined to see this innovative building and got to see the stunning design of the hotel interiors before it is formally opened. Questions were answered by Christos Passas, Design Director at Zaha Hadid Architects, regarding ZHA's approach to designing in different international and cultural contexts, the construction issues encountered, the innovative details needed, and how a building’s approach to urban design can activate an area.
The event was arranged by the RIBA Gulf Chapter and hosted by Chapter Chair Andy Shaw.
Speaker: Christos Passas
BArch (Hons), AA Grad.Des.Dip,RIBA, ARB, ETEK
Christos joined Zaha Hadid Architects as a Senior Designer in February 1998 and has been a key member in the evolution of the overall artistic direction of the studio its business development, the office culture, and the leader of a wide range of built and unbuilt projects and competitions within the practice.
Christos received his architecture degree with Honours as a Fulbright Scholar at Pratt Institute's School of Architecture in Brooklyn, New York in 1995. He was registered as an architect at Technical Chamber Cyprus 1996, a member of the Architects Registration Board in the UK since 2000, and a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects since 2011. He received his Graduate Design Diploma in 1998 in Advanced Architectural Design at the Architectural Association, London.
Christos taught Parametric Design and Urbanism at the Architectural Association with Patrik Schumacher in London between 2007 and 2010, working on the exploration of digital and parametric techniques for the formation of large urban settlements.
He subsequently went on to serve as Guest DAAD Professor in the Dessau Institute of Architecture (HA) at Bauhaus, Dessau, from 2008 to 2012 working on the implementation of digital design strategies for large scale objects with complex geometry and character, exploring uniqueness, diversity and complexity. He regularly participates in design juries at universities across the UK and Europe, and is a frequent guest lecturer in parametric design, design thinking and the role of architecture. He is currently Honorary Professor at the University of Technology, College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Qingdao until 2022.
Christos has been involved in the initial stages of the design of many of the practice's seminal projects such as the Rosenthal Centre for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati; the MAXXI: National Museum of 21st Century Art in Rome; and the Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi. Christos has served as Design and Project Director for a large number of projects. Since his arrival at the company, he has worked closely with Zaha Hadid and is one of the practice's Design Leaders.
He has delivered a broad spectrum of designs for various typologies such as for cultural institutions and Performance spaces, residential, interior design, commercial, innovative workspaces, mixed-use urban projects, urban regeneration, and masterplanning in a variety of scales in the US, Europe, China, Eastern Europe and Russia, North Africa and the Middle East.
