Zaha Hadid - Queen of the Curve
Revolutionary, trailblazer, maverick, controversial - architect Zaha Hadid was described under many adjectives, and she expressed her particular vision in mediums as diverse as sculpture, painting, and jewelry, in addition to architectural models and drawings.
Owner of an unmistakable style, her designs have often been called dynamic, fluid, unconventional, futuristic.
Once you’ve seen a work by Zaha Hadid, you never forget it - it stays imprinted on the retina, provoking all sorts of emotional reactions.
And that’s exactly what they are meant to do.
Sheikh Zayed bridge, Adu Dhabi (2010)
With a character as bold as her works, Hadid was both revered and hated. Even after 30 years of successful career as architect and designer, and almost six after her death, Zaha Hadid’s revolutionary work leaves no one indifferent.
Exploring and researching beyond the usual paths proposed by her peers, and mixing the interrelated fields of urbanism, architecture and design, Zaha Hadid often integrated distant fields such as art, biology, geometry, and sculpture into her building projects, thus pushing the boundaries of architecture and opening new avenues of expression for design as a whole.
Abstraction, fragmentation, and movement are the essential pillars of Hadid’s style.
Her architecture seems inspired by veils, dunes, and waves. Airy and light, it seems to wrap space and flow around it.
Both delicate and strong, just like the woman behind them, Hadid´s sleek and elegant designs obey to dynamic concepts, offering multi-view perspectives, in innovative, efficient proposals that rocked the world of architecture.
Born in Beirut to a prominent Iraki family, Zaha’s education was nonetheless international, having attended the American School, and later boarding schools in England and Switzerland.
The parental influence of a politically engaged father and a visual artist mother also left a strong imprint on Zaha’s character, nourishing her independent spirit and fostering a cosmopolitan, global vision.
Therefore, it’s not surprising that her designs carry these same hallmarks: freedom, a departure from conventions, and ample vision.
Although she later declared that her interest in architecture was inspired by her family visits to the ancient Sumerian ruins as a child, Hadid’s first academic inclination was to study mathematics, and its influence is evident in the clean precision of her designs and the clarity of her concepts.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the American University in Beirut, in 1972 Hadid moved to London to study architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture.
There she studied under the renown architects Rem Koolhaas, Elia Zenghelis, and Bernard Tschumi, and became in contact with what would become her main early influences in design: the works of Kazimir Malevich and Vladimir Tatlin.
Even as a student Zaha was already regarded as a trailblazer, and of having a spectacular vision. Koolhaas even described her as “a planet in her own orbit”.
Zaha Hadid and members of the Architectural Association.
"Composition" by A. Malevich, and "The Monument to the Third International" by V. Tatlin.
Hadid’s graduation thesis, “Malevich’s Tektonik”(a building project based on Malevich’s work), was so groundbreaking that it is still considered a talking point for architects up to this day.
After graduation, Hadid joined Koolhaas and Zenghelis at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It was also through her connection with Koolhaas that she met Peter Rice, the architectural engineer who would become a substantial support in the early stages of Zaha’s career.
In 1980, only 3 years after her graduation, Zaha Hadid opened her own architectural office in London.
From the very beginning, her bold, unusual style set her apart from other architects, but her highly detailed drawings and sketches left no doubt of her impeccable level of professionalism.
In 1982 Hadid earned international recognition when she won the international competition for a leisure club design in Hong Kong, with her daring project, “The Peak”.
The design recalls Malevich’s abstract paintings, and included the of subjects of rupturism and audacity that became Hadid’s trademark throughout her career.
Drawing and model for "The Peak", by Zaha Hadid.
But soon the accolade became a bitter disappointment when Hadid learned that its execution had been discarded in favour of a more conventional design.
Sadly, as Hadid would discover, it was an occurrence that would happen often in her career.
Another ambitious project that was never completed was her plan for the Cardiff Opera House, in Wales (1994). As in previous occasions, Hadid won the Cardiff competition, but in the end the Welsh government refused to finance it, and the commission was given to a more conventional project.
At this time in her career, Zaha continued taking part in competitions, winning many of them and seeing her projects published widely in respected architectural journals - although not carried into actual buildings.
Hadid was in risk of becoming a “paper architect” - one whose projects remained in sketches and drawings but were never actually built.
Unfazed, she continued creating expressionist paintings of her projects and began a secondary career as architecture professor.
Her first lectures at the Architectural Association in London soon gave way to teaching assignments at Cambridge University, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Yale University, Columbia University, the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, and the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg.
These lectures provided her with an avenue to spread her vision, and earned her a reputation for the revolutionary ideas she proposed, as well as her innovative design solutions.
Administrative building of the BMW factory, Germany (2005).
In 1988, Hadid was one of the seven architects chosen to showcase their work at the “Deconstructive Architecture” exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The exhibit included Hadid’s drawings, paintings and models for “The Peak”.
The exhibit was a huge accolade to Zaha’s architectural expertise and vision, and boosted her career by exposing her work to a wider audience beyond the realm of architecture.
In 1991 her project for the Vitra Fire Station in Weil am Rhein, Germany, was approved, and completed three years later, thus becoming her first important project built, and still one of her most admired designs.
From then on, Hadid’s vision gained new ground, and more of her projects began to be commissioned and constructed all over the world.
Some of those include the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinatti (1997), the Phaeno Science Center in Germany (2005), the BMW Factory Administration building in Germany (2005), the Zaragoza Bridge Pavillion (2008), the Sheikh Zayed bridge in Abu Dhabi (2010), the MAXXII Museum of Contemporary Art and Architecture in Rome (2010), the Guangzhou Opera House in China (2010), the Riverside Museum in Glasgow, (2011), the London Acquatics Center (2012), a building specifically constructed for the London Summer Olympics, the Galaxy SOHO building in China (2012), the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku (2013), the Vienna University of Economics and Business (2013), the Wangjing SOHO building in China (2014), the Jockey Club Innovation Center at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2014), and the Port Authority Building in Antwerp, Belgium, among many others.
GuangZhou Opera House, China (2010).
Hadid’s hard work, perseverance and confidence in her own vision finally paid off when in 2004 she was awarded the most prestigious award in the architectural world, the Pritzker Prize, equivalent to the Nobel Prize of architecture.
According to the award’s jury and architect, Frank Gehry, “the 2004 winner is probably one of the youngest people to be awarded this prize and has one of the clearest professional trajectories we have seen in years.”
Thus, Zaha Hadid became one of the youngest architects and the first woman to receive this prestigious award.
Aware that being a woman in a field traditionally dominated by men may have played against her in the execution of her projects, Zaha declared herself a feminist.
But she also seemed to have an ambiguous approach towards the title ‘woman architect’, often refusing to be categorised under that term. “I’m an architect, period.”, she declared fiercely.
In 2006, the Guggenheim Museum in New York presented a 30-year retrospective of Hadid’s work, exhibiting samples of her paintings, sketches, architectural drawings, urban plans, models, relief models, animations, furniture, and design objects.
The exhibition also focused on some of the recurring design themes explored by Hadid in her projects, such as the concepts of fields, folds, ribbons, and clusters in the production of contemporary space.
Two of Zaha Hadid’s paintings
Over the years, Hadid’s style began to evolve and shift as she became acquainted with new challenges and inspirations. From the sharp angles and rigid geometric forms of her early designs, she shifted to more organic lines.
By the early 2000s, her designs were already incorporating a prominence of curves that evoked forms found in nature (waves, sand dunes, drops, etc.), without losing the fundamental concepts of rupturism and movement that are the pillars of her trademark.
As she herself explained in a 2012 interview for Time Magazine: “It started off figuring out what to do with lightness or flight. Later it had to do more with topography and landscape, emulating a natural form.”
A great example of this approach is the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan, completed in 2012, and which has become an iconic piece of architecture.
When explaining the concept behind it, Hadid explained that the fluid form of the building “emerges from the folds of the natural topography of the landscape and envelops the different functions of the centre”.
The wave-like shape of the building and its post-modernist lines remind us of the work of Le Corbusier, but on a bolder, more futuristic level.
Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan (2012)
Hadid’s success in the architectural world allowed her to expand her unique design vision to a range of products beyond the traditional scope covered by architects.
Thus, in 2007 she collaborated with David Gill Gallery, creating the “Dune” table for the Venice Biennale. This became the first piece in a line of furniture that was later followed by the “Liquid Glacial” series of tables, coffee tables and stools.
Over the years, Hadid added chandeliers, benches, shelves, mirrors, centerpieces, candle holders, vases, and more to her growing range of home design. The pieces declare Hadid’s taste and vision, and are at the very threshold of sculptures and functional objects.
In addition, Hadid dabbled in fashion design, and worked with renown design companies - such as Louis Vuitton, Adidas, Melissa, Swarowski, and Fendi, among others - to create her own designs or reinvent items from their catalogues.
Out of all these, the “Flame” shoes and the “Nova” shoes she designed for United Nude are still considered some of the most unconventional and surprising designs in footwear.
Later, she collaborated with Aziz and Walid Mazzour for the Silene jewelry line, inspired on organic shapes. Hadid herself wore the stunning bracelets and rings with pride.
Clockwise from left: Flame shoes, Nova shoes,
Icone bag for Louis Vuitton, Bracelet.
She also designed interior spaces, and even completed stage sets, such as the one she created for the production of “Cosí Fan Tutte” by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Hadid was widely criticised for crossing over other fields far from architecture, and was accused of over-commercializing her brand name; but this departure obeyed more to Hadid’s ‘total design’ vision and need for extended expression channels than to a mere commercial quest.
But Hadid was not foreign to controversy, and her bold statements often seemed to invite it.
WangJing SOHO, China (2014)
Strongly opinionated, she considered that the main problem of the architects of the 20th century was that they strived in vain to provide a sensation of movement to static objects.
Zaha loved movement - even her early designs full of straight lines carry a fearless sense of dynamism and weightlessness.
However, one of the reasons why many of her projects found resistance to be built was precisely due to her prominent use of curves.
Traditionally, curves in buildings are complex to create and finish, requiring special techniques that make them expensive to build, and not always appreciated by final buyers.
But none of these discouraged Hadid, who continued creating her distinctive curved buildings, to the point of being nicknamed “Queen of the Curve” by the British newspaper The Guardian.
520 W 28th Street, Chelsea, New York (2017)
Hadid often decried that urban architecture suffered the imposed idea that buildings had to be more functional than beautiful or astounding.
Zaha detested the lack of imagination of clients who favoured drab building projects that would not ‘offend’ anyone, and the limited vision of her own architect peers, subjugated to the market.
Hadid once declared that she felt embarrassed that her projects were not built due to ignorance, or because clients doubted they were feasible.
She believed that people love the excitement of novelties, loves to be astounded and to encounter things that heighten their senses; and this was the aim of her designs: to create projects that provided unique experiences and a sense of wonderment.
Thus, Zaha Hadid brought an original artistic vision to architecture - buildings didn’t have to be mere concrete boxes in order to be efficient; they could also be works of art.
“Architecture is really about well-being. On the one hand
it’s about shelter, but it’s also about pleasure.
(Architecture) should be able to excite you,
to calm you, to make you think.”
-Zaha Hadid
Despite the whimsy of her designs, the buildings projected by Hadid are strategically planned to integrate their surroundings into the design, and often include the latest in technology in order to guarantee its users with the utmost comfort.
For instance, the lines of the High Lane building - Hadid's posthumous project in Chelsea, New York-, evoke the urban dynamic of this Manhattan neighbourhood. Hadid explained that the powerful urban dynamic between the streets of New York and the High Line are reflected on the different layers of the building and on the glass facade.
But the sleek exterior design is also extended to the building interiors, for which Hadid designed curved kitchens and bathroom spaces in order to achieve an integrated aesthetic.
In addition, the building was decorated with Hadid’s own line of home designs - a feast for those who enjoy post-modernist design.
520 W 28th Street, Chelsea, interior. (2017)
Although Manhattan was initially reluctant to her aesthetic and rejected many of her projects (Hadid was not licensed to work as an architect in the New York State, and had to work with a local architect office for the project in order to be approved, herself appearing as the ‘designer’.), Hadid’s Chelsea building was awarded the Building of the Year prize from the Society of Architects of New York, in 2017.
Other awards and recognitions that were bestowed to Hadid throughout her career included the Mies van der Rohe award (2003), the ‘Praemium Imperiale’ from the Japan Art Association (2009), and the Stirling Prize, one of architecture’s highest accolades (2010 and 2011), from the Royal Institute of British Architects.
In 2008, Forbes magazine named Zaha Hadid as one of the most powerful women in the world, honor which was later repeated by several other publications around the world.
In 2010, the UNESCO named Hadid as an ‘Artist for Peace’ ambassador, and she received France’s highest honor for cultural achievement, the ‘Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ medal, in recognition of her services to architecture. Also in 2010, Time magazine named her one of the ‘100 Most Influential People in the World’.
In 2012, Zaha Hadid was awarded the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and was invested by Queen Elizabeth II. Four years later, in 2016, the Royal Institute of British Architects awarded Hadid their highest recognition, the Royal Gold Medal.
Just as it happened with the Pritzker Prize, Hadid became the first and only woman to obtain this a prestigious architectural distinction.
Video: Zaha Hadid in 7 minutes - what makes
her architecture so extraordinary? (6:58)
On 31 March 2016, Hadid died surprisingly of a heart attack at the age of 65, while she was being treated for bronchitis.
Her sudden death left many unfinished projects, many of which have been successfully completed and with others which are still under way.
The architecture office she opened in 1980 carries on with her legacy, proposing innovative and groundbreaking designs that continue Hadid’s unique vision.
Hadid’s bold interpretation of architecture transformed our vision of what buildings can be, and opened new avenues of creativity for the new generations.
Her voice lingers on in each of her creations, encouraging us to be bold, be creative, and push the limits of what is possible.
To Learn More
*For a comprehensive look at Hadid’s projects, visit the official page of Zaha Hadid Architects
*Interested in Zaha Hadid’s fashion designs? Check out this article featuring 8 of her most striking collaborations:
*To learn more about Zaha Hadid’s works in relation to her contemporaries, you can watch the documentaries “Deconstructivist Architects” (1990), and “The Competition” (2013).
Sources: Time magazine, Dsigners.net, Guggenheim.org, MoMA.org, Zaha Hadid Design, Zaha Hadid Architects, David Gill Gallery.com, Vogue.fr, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia.
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