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The Dongdaemun Design Plaza, designed by Iraqi British architect Zaha Hadid, will house a fashion design information center with seminar rooms and a lecture hall. There will be a multi-purpose convention hall and a number of exhibition halls.

The DDP has been designed as a cultural hub at the centre of Dongdaemun, an historic district of Seoul that is now renowned for its 24-hour shopping and cafes. DDP is a place for people of all ages; a catalyst for the instigation and exchange of ideas and for new technologies and media to be explored. The variety of public spaces within DDP include Exhibition Halls, Convention Halls, Design Museum, Lab and Archives, Children’s Education Centre, Media Centre, Seminar Rooms and Sky Lounge; enabling DDP to present the widest diversity of exhibitions and events that feed the cultural vitality of the city.

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Located on the edge of the Pearl River, the 138-metre Guangzhou Circle was designed by Di Pasquale of Milan studio AM Project to provide an iconic headquarters for Chinese companies Guangdong Hongda Xingye Group and GDPE Guangdong Plastic Exchange

The total height is 138 mt for 33 floors, 85.000 square meters of floor area and about 50 million euros of global investment. The inner hole is a unique space that has no equal in the world with its almost fifty meters of diameter (48 mt).

Architect Joseph di Pasquale has said the hole is key to the structure because the empty centre would evoke an emotional response from its viewers.

Some local residents made the trip from the city centre to take a look at the newest icon in town. “I think he (the architect) is very brave. He made something that other people did not have the courage to make. It’s a circular building, which is really unique in Guangzhou,” said architecture student, Ash Sze, 18.

Chinese netizens have lashed out at the building, calling it a crass symbol of wealth and nicknamed it “Tuhao Circle” or “Copper Coin Building.”

[quote_box_center]”It’s quite unusual. I’m quite intrigued to see a building with a circular hole in the middle. Personally, I think it’s for the flashy rich people,” said one unidentified resident.[/quote_box_center]

Hongdaxingye Group, which funded the building, hosted a naming competition for the building earlier this year. In September, it gave the unidentified winner, who came up with the name “Guangzhou Circle”, 100,000 yuan (US$16,500).

The architectural concept is inspired by the strong iconic value of jade discs and numerological tradition of feng shui. In particular, the double disc of jade (bi-disk) is the royal symbol of ancient Chinese dynasty that reigned in this area around 2000 years ago. The building reflected in the water of the river creates exactly the same image: a double jade disc.

This figure also corresponds to the number 8 and infinity symbol that Chinese culture has a strong propitiatory value. Just remember how the date and time of the start of the Beijing Olympics was for the same reason fixed to 8:08 am of the ‘8-8-2008.