A Dialogue between Light, Motion, and Structure in the Heart of Beijing’s Business District
Caption: Anchoring the Fengtai business district between central Beijing and Daxing Airport © Hufton + Crow / Zaha Hadid Architects
Curated by Archirev Editorial | Feature Story | 3 minutes read | Published Nov 3rd 2025
Project texts and description provide by Zaha Hadid Architect
PROJECT TYPE: MIXED-USE
Project name: Leeza SOHO
Location: Lize Financial Business District, Beijing, China
Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects
Design Leads: Zaha Hadid & Patrik Schumacher
Project Architect: Philipp Ostermaier
Executive Architect: Beijing Institute of Architectural Design
Project Start Date: October 2013
Siteworks Start Date: April 2015
Completion Date: 19 November 2019
Status: Completed
Client: SOHO China Ltd.
Functions: Mixed-use (Grade A Offices, Retail, Public Plaza, Parking (480 cars + 2 680 bicycles, Subway cooling towers and public access to subway station).
Procurement: Unknown
Height: 207 m (45 floors)
Gross floor area: 172 800 m² (124 000 m² above ground + 48 800 m² below)
Site Area: 14 365 m²
Atrium Height: 194 m
Certification: LEED Gold (Pre-Award May 2019)
Key Materials: Concrete & Steel Composite Frame
Photography / Renders: © Hufton + Crow / Zaha Hadid Architects
A Landmark of Dynamic Innovation in Beijing’s Financial District
Located on Lize Road in southwest Beijing and anchoring the new Fengtai business district — a rapidly emerging financial and transport hub linking the city centre to the Beijing Daxing International Airport, Leeza SOHO redefines what it means to build vertically. Strategically positioned at the intersection of five new metro lines and diagonally dissected by an underground subway service tunnel, the 45-floor, 200-meter-tall tower is more than a commercial office building, it is a civic symbol of connectivity and urban vitality.
Conceived by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) for SOHO China, the tower responds to Beijing’s multi-modal urban plan: accommodating growth without impacting existing infrastructure networks in the centre of the city.
Caption: The tower straddles a subway tunnel and connects directly to the Lize transport interchange, integrating into Beijing’s evolving metro network © Zaha Hadid Architects. (Rendered Image)
Caption: The tower straddles a subway tunnel and connects directly to the Lize transport interchange, integrating into Beijing’s evolving metro network. © Hufton + Crow. (Photographed Image)
Concept, Form & Symbolism - The Spiral of Connection
Leeza SOHO occupies a site split in half by a subway service tunnel. Instead of treating this as a constraint, ZHA made it the conceptual core: the tower divides into two interlocking volumes enclosed by a single glass envelope.
At this core lies the building’s defining feature, a 194 meter full-height atrium — the tallest in the world. It divides the 172,800 m² structure into two twisting halves that rotate 45° from base to crown. This bold architectural gesture resolves the site’s underground rail alignment, reorients the upper floors with Lize Road, and creates a breathtaking daylit “public room” for the city’s 21 million residents. It is really the heart of the design: a public space of light and air that binds the building’s users and the city beyond.
Caption: The world’s tallest atrium spirals upward, intertwining two towers in a continuous motion of light and structure. © Hufton + Crow / Zaha Hadid Architects
Four skybridges on levels 13, 24, 35 and 45, connect the halves in a fluid dance of movement and light. The resulting form is a sculptural ‘pas de deux’ between structure and space, capturing Beijing’s spirit of motion and change.
Caption: The skybridges connecting the intertwining two towers. © Hufton + Crow / Zaha Hadid Architects
Exterior Form & Materiality; Fluid Precision
Encased in a double-insulated unitised glass curtain wall, the tower appears as two sleek forms gliding past each other. Each floor steps slightlyby 150 mm to create narrow ventilation registers, drawing fresh air through operable cavities for precise environmental control. Low-iron, low-e glazing achieves a 0.4 shading coefficient with 62% visible light transmission, balancing transparency and performance.
Caption: Triple-glazed panels with low-e coating achieve a u-value of 2.0 W/m²K and a shading coefficient of 0.4. © Hufton + Crow / Zaha Hadid
Vertical lines accentuate the tower’s height while horizontal shading fins regulate solar gain. By day the façade reflects Beijing’s skyline in subtle gradients; by night the atrium glows as a beacon in the western district.
Caption: Triple-glazed panels with low-e coating reflecting Beinjings Skyline. © Hufton + Crow / Zaha Hadid
Interior Experience: a Vertical Urban Plaza
Inside, the atrium functions as a public square for the new business district — a vast volume linking retail, office floors, and skybridges.
Natural light penetrates deep into the plan, while the two halves of the tower shade the atrium’s public spaces to maintain comfort throughout Beijing’s extreme seasons.
Workspaces are open and adaptable, designed for small and medium-sized enterprises seeking flexibility. Retail occupies the two basement levels (B1 and B2), with parking and bicycle facilities below. Above, MEP floors on levels 13, 24, and 35 provide technical efficiency without interrupting the flow of space.
Caption: An open Atrium that functions as a public square. © Zaha Hadid
Structure & Engineering: A Dialogue of Lightness and Strength
The tower uses a hybrid structural system: a reinforced concrete core and steel columns with composite slabs. Trusses and skybridges distribute loads between the two halves, while tuned mass dampers control sway in seismic conditions.
Below ground, foundation piles anchor the core in concrete; above ground, steel beams and corrugated composite slabs create open, flexible floorplates. A steel helipad crowns the building at 207 metres.
Caption: Concrete cores, steel trusses, and diagonal bracing stabilise the twisting geometry. © Hufton + Crow / Zaha Hadid
Environmental Performance & Sustainability
Beijing’s continental climate with seasonal extremes demands careful control. Leeza SOHO’s atrium acts as a thermal chimney with integrated ventilation, maintaining positive pressure at low levels to limit pollution ingress.
The tower achieves outstanding efficiency through a u-value of 0.55 W/m²K for its envelope. It demonstrates a 38% energy saving below the ASHRAE baseline, a 40% reduction in potable water use, and a 95% construction waste diversion rate. An advanced 3D BIM energy management system monitors operations in real time, integrating heat recovery from exhaust air, low-flow fixtures, grey-water flushing, and a green roof with photovoltaic array.
Caption: The atrium’s stack effect drives natural ventilation, reducing energy demand and improving air quality. © Hufton + Crow / Zaha Hadid
Low Volatile Organic Compound materials and advanced MERV-13 filtration and positive-pressure lobbies maintain PM2.5 levels below 15 µg/m³ even on “orange alert” days. 2 680 bicycle parking spaces and EV charging stations promote sustainable mobility.
Operational Efficiency
Post-occupancy data from 2022 show an actual Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 83 kWh/m²·yr — outperforming design targets by 2% — with a 92% tenant satisfaction score (LEED IEQ survey).
Caption: An insulating green roof with photovoltaic panels contributes to energy efficiency and water management. © Zaha Hadid
Conclusion
Completed in 2019, Leeza SOHO stands as one of Zaha Hadid’s final built works. A masterful synthesis of structure and space, where form is not surface but movement. The spiral atrium embodies her lifelong exploration of fluid geometry and human connection.
It is at once a workplace and a public landmark, a symbol of Beijing’s capacity for reinvention through architecture that breathes, connects, and inspires.
Credit: Leeza SOHO at daylight © Hufton + Crow / Zaha Hadid Architects
Project Animation
Project Credits
Architect & Lead Designer: Zaha Hadid Architects, London
Founding Design Principal: Prof. Zaha Hadid (1950–2016)
Design Patron & Director: Patrik Schumacher
Project Director: Satoshi Ohashi
Project Architect: Philipp Ostermaier
Executive Architect: Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD)
Structural & Façade Engineering: Bollinger + Grohmann, China Academy of Building Research, BIAD
MEP Engineering: Parsons Brinckerhoff, BIAD
Vertical Transportation: Hitachi Ltd — 16 double-deck lifts (6 m/s)
Fire & Life Safety: Arup China (peer review)
Sustainability / LEED: Schneider Electric
Lighting Design: J+B Studios, Light Design, Leuchte
Landscape Design: Zaha Hadid Architects, Ecoland
Interior Design: Zaha Hadid Architects, HuaTeng Decoration
Main Contractor: China State Construction Engineering Corporation No. 8