Last week, on March 8th, International Women’s Day was celebrated across the globe. To honor this special day, we take a look at the works of one of the world’s most prominent female architects: Zaha Hadid.
Who is Zaha Hadid?
There is no question that today Zaha Hadid is one of the most known faces of contemporary architecture.
Not only an internationally renowned architect (she was the winner of the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 2004), she has also made waves in the world with her designs in fashion, art and commercial products.
Merging influences from her native land, Iraq with western elements, she has designed and built projects of all scales and uses around the globe. Though her structures might be seen as alien, almost with a life of their own, her works have always been intriguing, magnetic and of course, controversial.
Despite her tragic early death in 2016, Zaha Hadid has left behind a rich legacy of architectural wonders that carry her particular aesthetic signature; a building that says Hadid at a first glance.
The Hadid Signature
Zaha Hadid’s works cannot be just described as architecture; they seem to be a snapshot of a moment frozen in time, capturing motion and balance with an intriguing fluidity and a surprising sharpness.
Her work, undoubtedly bold, advocates freedom from the past, from the visual expectations, and in a sense, from physical constraints. With her structures, the reality warps, perspective tilts, lines converge and gravity stutters.
This sense of calculated disturbance is visible not only in her architectural works, but also in her colorful collages and paintings.
The structures contain a series of complex interior spaces that interlock, spiral and fold in on themselves. However, the exterior is just as important in her designs, if not more: the landscape always plays an integral role in the form and orientation of the building.
Parametric Geometries
Zaha Hadid’s work embodies modernism at its heart: the newest technologies are used to maximize space, efficiency, and technical capabilities to push the change of perspective that extra step further.
Parametric design tools are necessary to achieve the complex, carefully engineered spaces, and with luck too, the technology has advanced to accommodate for Hadid’s swerving, looping shapes.
Over time, it is possible to see Hadid’s work become smoother and more fluid, but with it there is also a decrease in variety and colour compared to her earlier projects. This shift in style also unfortunately marked the end of her intriguing collages bursting with energy and colour.
Notable Works
The Peak Leisure Club
Year: 1982-1983
Status: Competition/Research
Location: Hong Kong, China
Standing above the chaotic congestion of the city, the clubhouse was designed as a “man-made polished granite mountain.” The structure has a distinctive and sharp horizontal orientation, cutting through the site and reaching out to the city.
Each level within the structure is fortified by its particular function: the first and second levels contain apartments; the third level is a large void carved into the structure containing the club, with a bar and library floating in its double height space; and the uppermost level has the penthouse units.
Vitra Fire Station
Year: 1990-1993
Status: Built
Location: Weil am Rhein, Germany
The Vitra Fire Station is a prominent reminder that Hadid’s work emerges from what their landscape and context offer: it is a building with sharp edges and a deceiving simplicity that seems to be sliced off the adjacent factory units.
The structure made of exposed, reinforced concrete and frameless glazing embodies a frozen dynamism, waiting to spring to life. As a consequence, it dictates and defines the spaces around it as well as within.
Bergisel Ski Jump
Year: 1999-2002
Status: Built
Location: Innsbruck, Austria
Part of the Olympic Arena refurbishment project, the Bergisel Ski Jump actually offers multiple functions: a ski ramp, sport facilities, a café and a viewing terrace.
The structure, which plays the role of both a tower and a bridge, rises from the hill, continuing the landscape of the ski slopes to the sky.
Kartal-Pendik Masterplan
Year: 2006
Status: Competition
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
The winning competition entry for the urban redevelopment of the Kartal-Pendik district aims to make the city more polycentric and to turn the area into a new civic, residential, commercial, and transport hub of Istanbul.
The masterplan grows out from a main boulevard as its central axe, and creates separate areas for business, recreation and culture.
The scheme is a drastic one: a complete change from the existing small scale urban tissue, but it was seen at the time as a futuristic push for the fast-developing city.
Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre
Year: 2007-2012
Status: Built
Location: Baku, Azerbaijan
In contrast to the more rigid, formal, monumental Soviet architecture, the cultural centre in Baku shows off a fluid form curving along to the ripples of its landscape. The structure smoothly and effortlessly connects the different functions inside its swooping shell.
The line between inside and outside is blurred as the exterior walls curve and melt into the walls defining the interior spaces.
As a whole, the structure exudes a sense of optimism and lightness, breaking free of its Soviet Modernism-imbued past.
Guangzhou Opera House
Year: 2003-2010
Status: Built
Location: Guangzhou, China
Overlooking the Pearl River, the state-of-the-art opera house in Guangzhou aims to create a new dialogue with the city it is located in.
Shaped like two boulders, the form of the structure has evolved from its site, as is common in Hadid’s works. The contoured profiles of the boulders gradually extend into a promenade towards the pedestrians, connecting the building with the city.
MAXXI: Museum of XXI Century Arts
Year: 1998-2009
Status: Built
Location: Rome, Italy
A contrast to the historical and static city of Rome, the MAXXI museum boasts Hadid’s trademark elements: curving concrete walls, large glazed surfaces streaming daylight inside, black blocks of staircases hung in the void. The fluid pathways in the museum weave, intersect, and connect, creating dynamic and interactive spaces and blurring the boundary between inside and outside.
Z-Car I and II
In collaboration with Patrik Schumacher
Client: Kenny Schachter
Year: 2005-2008
Status: Concept
Based on an earlier 3-wheeled version, the Z-Car is a sleek and innovative 4-seater vehicle. The car is designed to be completely emission-free, and runs on 4 electric in-wheel motors, powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
Mesa table
In collaboration with Patrik Schumacher
Client: Vitra
Year: 2007
Status: Complete
Reflecting on Zaha Hadid’s architectural designs that are both sculptural and contextual, the Mesa table also skews, distorts and hangs in a delicate balance. The surface of the table, similar to lily pads floating in a pond, is supported by an unseen and organic structure underneath.
Melissa Shoe
In collaboration with Patrik Schumacher
Client: Melissa/Grendene S/A
Year: 2008
Status: Complete
Expressing Hadid’s signature design approach in a new medium, the Melissa shoes were designed to evoke a sense of movement and dynamism, where the separation between the body and the object is blurred.
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