Zaha Hadid Architects have designed a shell-shaped dining pavilion which mixes advanced technology and principles found in nature to create an eating space that doubles as a neofuturistic piece of art.

The work, named Volu, was designed by Zaha Hadid and company director Patrik Schumacher for display at the 2015 Design Miami festival in the US state of Florida.

The piece was commissioned by real estate developer Robbie Antonio for his Revolution Project, which invited more than 30 of the world’s most famous architects, artists and designers – including Kengo Kuma and Ron Arad – to create a cost-efficient living space using advanced design and fabrication technologies.

Volu is formed by a series of structural bands which collect at the structure’s spine and expand overhead, creating a curving roof to shelter diners below. Irregular shapes have been cut from the top to create a distinctive pattern which is mirrored by panels on the floor.

The 20sq m (215sq ft) pavilion, which is 3.2m (10ft) in height, can hold a table and seats for up to ten diners.

Zaha Hadid Architects said: “Volu fuses computational design, lightweight engineering and precision fabrication. The design embeds the tectonics of manufacture within the form itself. Defined by digital processes, the pavilion has been developed in such a way that its components are, at most, singly curved.”

Computer programming was used to analyse how flat sheet materials could be shaped into Volu’s complex and expressive forms, and what unnecessary materials could be removed to decrease weight.

Hadid – who won the 2016 RIBA Royal Gold Medal earlier this year – had three other pieces of design work on display at the festival: a glass chair, an intricate vase and a stone sculpture.

The architect is currently working on a somewhat larger-scale project in Miami; a 62-storey super-luxe residential tower called One Thousand Museum to be built in the city’s Museum Park.