ZSPACE: Integrated Architectural Workflows
The 2024 Autodesk Conference featured a compelling presentation by Senior Associate Vishu Bhooshan of Zaha Hadid Architects, a specialist in architectural computation who leads ZHA CODE, the in-house research group dedicated to bridging design with advanced technology. He introduced ZSPACE, the name given to the firm’s Spatial Technology Stack, a suite of tools and methodologies designed to unify design, analysis, and fabrication under one digital umbrella. At its core lies Pixar’s Universal Scene Description (USD), a file format that ZHA CODE has paired with NVIDIA’s Create Kit to handle vast, complex models while maintaining seamless communication between different software platforms. During the presentation, Bhooshan emphasized that ZHA CODE does not work in isolation; the group actively borrows ideas from academic institutes and research centers worldwide, refining these insights into an integrated workflow for some of the world’s most ambitious architectural projects.
One of the prime examples was Striatus, a 3D-printed concrete bridge developed in collaboration with the Block Research Group, Incremental3D, and Holcim. This project illustrated how the ZSPACE stack can guide the entire design-to-production pipeline, from parametric modeling and structural geometry to robotic fabrication. The process showcased circular construction principles that minimize waste and negative externalities, with the team carefully orchestrating each step to ensure that every component, from the earliest conceptual sketches to the final printed arches, remained synchronized through USD. The presentation also included diagrams produced with partners such as the Block Research Group to highlight how Striatus achieved optimized form and minimized material usage, demonstrating the environmental benefits of an integrated approach.
Another high-profile undertaking was the Xian International Football Centre, where ZHA CODE deployed procedural geometry methods to negotiate with consultants and local authorities on a massive stadium design. The project was subdivided into multiple large-scale submodels, created in Rhino and Grasshopper, then assembled in a master USD file, a method made feasible by NVIDIA Omniverse and ZHA’s custom connectors for Maya, Unreal Engine, and the zSpace viewer. Bhooshan explained that handling 20 to 80 million polygons becomes feasible only when leveraging GPU acceleration and robust data management, both of which are cornerstones of ZSPACE. The presentation included glimpses of the underlying C++ and C# connector code, revealing how the team achieves real-time updates, high-fidelity visualization, and even animation sequences using USD Composer.
ZHA CODE’s emphasis on GPU computing was evident in the demonstrations of ZSPACE SDF and ZSPACE Solar. In one example, a single-thread CPU calculation took over 100 minutes, whereas the GPU-accelerated pipeline completed the task in under two minutes, offering an 80-fold improvement in speed. The team also showcased how CUDA libraries boost performance for solar analysis, allowing 50 million calculations to run in real time. The audience was shown a timeline comparison where, under typical architectural processes, design phases remain siloed and sequential. In contrast, the ZSPACE workflow overlaps these stages, saving time and improving accuracy by updating multiple facets of the project simultaneously. Before concluding, Bhooshan briefly touched on how artificial intelligence and collaboration platforms integrate into Grasshopper via specialized extensions, an exciting glimpse of future directions for the practice.
Throughout the presentation, Bhooshan’s background in both architecture and computational research shone through. He demonstrated that ZHA CODE, as a cross-disciplinary team, merges knowledge from software development, mathematical research, and architectural design into a cohesive environment that addresses the complexities of large-scale construction. The result is a suite of projects and processes that challenge traditional boundaries, showcasing what can happen when different fields converge around a shared digital platform. The conference ended with a reminder that any architectural office can adopt a similarly integrated approach, provided they build a consistent technological stack that connects design, analysis, and construction as efficiently as ZHA CODE’s does.
For practices already using Revit, Archi’s range of plugins can help pave the way toward this future. By extending the capabilities of standard BIM workflows and enabling deeper integration with tools like USD, these plugins ensure that firms of any size can begin to experiment with the same concepts that ZHA CODE has championed. It was a vivid demonstration of the power of unified data, GPU acceleration, and a well-structured workflow, leaving attendees with the impression that, thanks to teams like ZHA CODE, the industry’s next chapter is already being written. For those eager to follow this path, visiting https://goto.archi/revit-plugins offers a practical starting point for building or enhancing a Spatial Technology Stack of one’s own.
Here goes a video covering most of the aspect described explained by Vishu Bhooshan himself:
