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Near the center of the Azerbaijanian capital Baku, on the Caspian Sea, one of the most distinctive buildings of the country was installed. In memory to his deceased father, the late President Heydar Aliyev, President Ilham Aliyev has initiated the construction of a superlative cultural centre.

The futuristic design was developed by famous London architect Zaha Hadid and unmistakably bears her signature in form and style. The supporting structure of the building envelope is a MERO KK ball node system.

In comparison to the originally projected steel structure, this type of construction has many advantages for the design, production and above all for the erection, all complicated by this very sophisticated geometry.

The visible cladding consists of fibre-glass reinforced concrete slabs which were not part of MERO-TSK’s work.

The Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center houses three concert and conference halls of varying dimensions, a library, restaurants and a museum. The surrounding urban complex will feature hotels, office buildings, shopping malls and generously dimensioned outdoor facilities.

This project is an impressive example of the economical benefits derived from using a MERO space frame structure for the realization of extremely complex roof constructions.