News: Zaha Hadid has masterplanned a 276-hectare site beside a lagoon in Izmir for Turkey's bid to host the World Expo 2020.

Located just outside the city centre, the site is part of the Inciralti region designated as a future tourist destination and renowned for its hot springs. Zaha Hadid's designs would transform the region into one of Europe’s largest urban recreation areas and it would remain as a public park once the fair was over.

The theme for the fair is entitled New Routes to a Better World/Health for All and will focus on mental and physical well-being as well as the well-being of society and the environment. The site and its surrounding infrastructure are thus designed to be environmentally friendly with a low carbon footprint.

Izmir narrowly missed out to Milan on the bid for the Expo 2015, while its competitors for the 2020 fair are São Paulo in Brazil, Yekaterinburg in Russia, Ayutthaya in Thailand and Dubai. The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) General Assembly in Paris is expected to reveal the winning city in November.

Zaha Hadid is currently also working on designs for a Qatar stadium for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a metro station in Saudi Arabia and a residential skyscraper in Miami.

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Image by Methanoia.