Zaha Hadid died on March 31, 2016 in Miami. She was 65 years old, and many say that for an architect this is a very early death. Hadid began to bring her projects to life late, but immediately received the status of one of the main architects of our time. Her projects stray from the history of architecture: they cling to the history of modern and contemporary art and at the same time pretend that no history of art ever existed. The Village tells what Zaha Hadid's work consisted of and why her work will live on.
Studying with Rem Koolhaas
Born in Baghdad to a wealthy family, Zaha Hadid traveled abroad as a child, studying at the American University of Beirut and then went to study architecture in London, where she met Rem Koolhaas. After working for his OMA office in Rotterdam from 1977 to 1980, she returned to London where she began an independent practice. OMA's interdisciplinary approach clearly influenced Hadid, who incorporated concepts from the visual arts and the natural sciences into her practice. The constant theorizing that Koolhaas did was also important for Hadid, for whom the recognition of her ideas in the early years of work replaced the implementation of projects.
Work in the table
If you look at the list of Zaha Hadid's projects, the first thing that catches your eye is the almost complete absence of completed projects in the 1980s. At the same time, there are many projects left in the form of visualizations and drawings - for different cities and different scales. Her projects won international competitions, but remained on paper because they were too bold - both technologically and contextually. The first building designed by Hadid began to be built only in 1986 in Berlin. She was helped in this by German feminists who were trying to increase the presence of women in modern German architecture. The IBA residential building was completed in Berlin in 1993.
architectural graphics
Fame in architectural circles came to Hadid long before the implementation of the first project. In the early 1980s, she won a competition for the development of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong. This was largely due to the graphic work of Hadid, whose drawings simultaneously conveyed the concept of her architectural project, and could work as completely independent works of fine art. Picturesque renderings of her projects can be viewed on the Zaha Hadid Architects website.
Architect as artist
In general, Hadid's whole approach to architecture and design can be called artistic. Hadid rejected both modernist functionalism and postmodern irony. Her projects seemed to emerge from some parallel world with its own history of art. Her own fantasy was most important to her, but because of this, she was criticized. Thus, the project of the MAXXI Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome was considered completely unsuitable for exhibiting paintings and objects, so that in many ways it became a monument to itself, and its architecture is remembered better than its collection. Her design objects - from furniture to vases to shoes - look like miniature copies of her buildings, and it doesn't matter how comfortable they are to use.
Russian avant-garde
Hadid often said that the Russian avant-garde, especially in the person of Kazimir Malevich, had a strong influence on her work - both as an artist and as an architect. Many of her paintings are reminiscent of his Suprematist compositions, and the title contains the word "tectonics", which is important for constructivists. If you place one of her first projects, the Vitra fire station, next to, say, Konstantin Melnikov's Rusakov club, Hadid's connection to the avant-garde ideas lost in Russia becomes obvious - although not without irony.
Parametricism and composite plastics
Zaha Hadid's bureau subsequently moved from a manual approach to a parametric one, that is, a computational one, in which large amounts of data are processed, on the basis of which the structure of a building is then formed so complex that it can often be difficult to perceive by the human brain. It is thanks to this approach that Zaha Hadid became known as the author of projects of bizarre forms - like the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku. But their implementation would not have been possible without the use of composite plastics, whose properties make it possible to build buildings of non-standard shapes.
Women's
Zaha Hadid is, in fact, the only female star architect, the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize. It would seem that she could serve as a role model for many women who want to make a career in the world of architecture, but her life seemed to be built on a kind of male model. Although she was helped by feminists at the first stage of her career, Hadid herself did not do much for the movement for the emancipation of women. Even if you look at the list of employees of her bureau, there are significantly more male names than female ones. Especially in the higher echelons.
Scandals in Asia
The last years of Hadid's life were marked by scandals related to the construction of sports facilities in Asia. During the construction of her stadium in Qatar, workers died - and the media, of course, paid attention first of all to the famous architect. Hadid asked journalists to check the facts more carefully: the design of the building itself was not dangerous for workers, and the fault lay with the Qatari authorities and the developer, who did not ensure proper safety at the facility. In addition, the stadium project in Qatar was criticized for its extravagant form: for many it resembled a vagina. Although Hadid denied any resemblance, this seems more like a plus: this is how the Islamic ban on the image of human faces was ironically beaten in the stadium design. Another scandal awaited Zaha Hadid in Tokyo: local architects were horrified by her grandiose project of the Olympic stadium for several billion dollars. Someone compared it to a turtle that wants to drag Japan to the bottom of the sea.
Patrick Schumacher
Patrick Schumacher is a partner at Zaha Hadid Architects who has worked with Hadid on key studio projects since 1988. Senior designer of the bureau, he participated in the development of projects for the Vitra fire station and the MAXXI museum. 28 years of joint work could not be in vain: Schumacher shares the principles of Zaha Hadid and works as a shadow ruler of her bureau. So with the death of Zaha, her work will not die: her ghost will remain with us.
PHOTO: cover - Kevork Djansezian / AP / TASS, 1, 4 - Christian Richters / Zaha Hadid Architects, 2, 3, 6 - Zaha Hadid Architects, 5 - Helene Binet / Zaha Hadid Architects, 7 - Ivan Anisimov
Born in Baghdad (Iraq), at the age of 11 she realized that she wanted to become an architect. In 1972 she went to study in London, where she remained to live. "A planet in its own orbit" - this is how the famous Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, Zaha's former teacher at the famous AA (Architectural Association School of Architecture), and after her first employer called her talented student.
Already in 1980, Zaha Hadid opened her own office, Zaha Hadid Architects. She participated in many competitions, won victories one after another, but things did not go beyond the paper. Customers were frightened by the bold ideas of the architect. For quite a long time, her bureau was engaged in the design of furniture, interiors and even shoes. Zaha Hadid's first completed project was the Vitra fire station in Germany (1990 - 1993), but the architect gained wide popularity only in 1999 after the construction of the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati (USA). In 2004, Zaha Hadid became the first woman to receive the highest honor in architecture, the Pritzker Prize. Zaha Hadid's buildings erected in different parts of the globe look like alien creatures. On March 31, 2016, the architect died of a heart attack in Miami. She was ahead of her time, leaving many projects that we hope will be implemented.
The first building was a Vitra fire station in Germany (1990 - 1993) Private mansion in Barvikha, Russia. Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China Beko Masterplan Multipurpose Complex in Belgrade, Serbia Golden Metro Station in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Skyscrapers Signature Towers in Dubai, UAE Changsha International Art and Culture Center, China 40-storey hotel in Macau, China Business Center premium class Dominion Tower, Moscow, st. Sharikopodshipnikovskaya, 5, str. 1. Facade cladding made of aluminum panels changes color depending on the angle of view and degree of illumination. Dominion Tower is distinguished by an amazing atmosphere and the lightness that the atrium creates - you can go up to the top floor via a "floating" staircase or one of 5 elevators. Beethoven Festival Complex Bonn 2020, Germany. Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku. The Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center is a building with a difficult fate. Not having time to open, she survived the fire, but, like a phoenix, she was reborn from the ashes, without losing her beauty. The building-sculpture with smooth, fluid outlines is spectacular from any angle: do not be too lazy to go around it from all sides. Inside - a concert and exhibition halls, the Aliyev Museum. st. Heydar Aliyev. Riverside Transport Museum, Glasgow. The 36-meter glass façade, which reflects the River Clyde, is topped by a crenellated roof. Despite the fact that construction was delayed for seven years due to the crisis, it was worth it. This museum was named the best in Europe in 2013. Tokyo Olympic Stadium 2020, Japan Football Stadium 2022, QatarA unique talent and an unusual vision of the world made Zaha Hadid one of the most famous architects on the planet. The high status of this woman architect is confirmed by the awarding of the Pritzker Prize and the command of the Order of the British Empire, and to no lesser extent by the popularity of her projects.
The biography and personal life of a woman are quite interesting. She was born in Baghdad (Iraq) on 10/31/1950. Parents were distinguished by progressive views and enthusiasm for their studies. Mother, Wajiha al-Sabunji, originally from Mosul, was an artist. Father, Muhammad al-Haj Hussein Hadid, was one of the co-founders of the National Democratic Party of Iraq.
Education Zaha Hadid (Zaha Hadid) received at the monastic French school in Baghdad, then at the American Institute in Beirut (mathematical orientation). The next stage was the school of the Architectural Association in London (Great Britain), the course of masters Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zengelis.
Graduation work - the plan of the hotel-bridge over the Thames based on the work of Malevich. While studying architecture between 1972 and 1977, Zaha Hadid worked on projects, some of which remained unrealized.
The implementation of ideas began with the development in 1990 of the interior for a restaurant in Japan (Sapporo) "Moonzun". Her other early work in the field of architecture is better known: the design of the fire department of the German furniture company Vitra in 1994.
The career of the designer developed smoothly. After graduating from the School of Architecture, she joined the design office of her teacher, Koolhaas, and worked for him until 1980. After leaving the OMA bureau, Hadid organized her own firm - Zaha Hadid Architects. Work on the creation of "paper" projects was carried out in collaboration with engineer P. Rice, who gave Zaha's visual ideas a material "flesh", embodying them in engineering structures. In parallel with the design, the designer was engaged in teaching activities.
Fame came after the construction of the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art (USA, Cincinnati) - the first won tender-competition, in the development of the idea of which she participated.
In Russia, the work of Zaha Hadid was noted by the Pritzker Prize, presented to her on May 31, 2004 in St. Petersburg. For the first time, the award was given to a woman. Zaha Hadid has been in Moscow before that time, working on her projects.
Britain confirmed the merits of the master by awarding her the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2012).
The personal life of the architect did not work out, she was not married and had no children. According to Zaha herself, her children are her projects and employees, so in this sense, the woman's family was huge. Hadid lived very modestly, in the historic center of the British capital. According to guests and journalists, the house was a free space of creative planning with avant-garde furniture.
Zaha Hadid died on March 21, 2016. She died in a Miami hospital, where she was being treated for bronchitis. The cause of death was a heart attack.
creative architecture
Residential building in Manhattan
The key concept on which all Zaha Hadid's projects are based is the design of iconic objects in the style of avant-garde and futurism.
Features of her sketches:
- There are no straight lines, only smooth, well-balanced transitions of complex curves, embodied in concrete and glass of algebraic formulas. Apparently, this is how her basic education at the Faculty of Mathematics manifested itself. The honorary titles of "Queen of the Curve" and "Queen of Forms" fully correspond to the amazing power of impression of her objects.
- The perspective is deliberately distorted.
- The total volume is divided into individual components.
- Early designs are distinguished by angular forms, later ones are curvilinear.
The most famous works of Zaha Hadid (brought to life) are presented below.
The Heydar Aliyev Center (Baku, Azerbaijan) is a multi-level building of national importance, intended for holding large events. The design was completed in 2007, construction - in 2012. The work of the architect was awarded Design of the Year in 2014 as the best building in the world. The sketches are dominated by wavy lines, the complex shape of the building is interpreted as a symbol of infinity.
The interiors correspond to the external appearance, they also evoke an association with a space object. Zaha Hadid is recognized in Baku, in particular as an architect and designer of Muslim origin.
Center for Contemporary Art (Cincinnati, USA). It is the only museum in the United States designed by a woman. The project was completed in 1998, and the desire to break the building into separate curvilinear and acute-angled fragments was clearly manifested here.
Dominion Tower (Moscow, Russia). Zaha Hadid's projects in Moscow are limited to this building, built in 2008-2015. Despite the unique architecture, Peresvet-Plaza is considered unattractive in its original capacity as an office center. However, as a building, it is one of the sights of the capital of Russia.
Cottage (Barvikha, Moscow region, Russia), built in 2012 as a gift from Doronin (Russian entrepreneur, millionaire) Naomi Campbell. The exterior and interiors imitate a spaceship, the base material is artificial stone.
Here, the designer's craving for curved lines and surfaces, as well as color conciseness, manifested itself as clearly as possible.
National Museum of Art of the 21st Century (Rome, Italy), built in 1999-2010. This complex, based on the old barracks, is the largest building of Zaha Hadid. Built of concrete and glass, it has an area of 27 thousand square meters. meters.
To appreciate other striking works of the designer, we offer you to see photos of Zaha Hadid's projects.
Opera in Guangzhou (China, 2010)
Civil Court Building (Madrid, Spain, 2007)
Riverside Transport Museum (Scotland, Glasgow)
Work in progress and future buildings
Among the designed but unbuilt projects, Zaha Hadid's architecture includes:
- Opus Hotel & Serviced Apartaments (Dubai, UAE);
- football stadium (Qatar)
- Trafalgar Square redevelopment plan (London, UK). The illustration is a sketch of the designer.
Now the studio founded by Hadid continues to work under the leadership of Patrick Schumacher. Their projects are not yet so popular and in demand, because as an architect Zaha Hadid was out of competition. However, the publication of all new concepts is carried out regularly. Currently under construction are 24 objects designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.
Small forms and household items
In addition to large architectural objects, Zaha was an established interior and household items designer. Unique lamps created by her, combining curvilinearity, traditional for most of her work, with unusual design solutions.
One example is the monochrome chandeliers for Slamp.
Or creative LED chandeliers made of glossy polymer Vortexx Chandelier (2005).
The furniture of her design is also interesting - tables made of transparent acrylic, seamless sofas and armchairs, geometrically complex frame chairs.
Despite the strange outward forms, all pieces of furniture are quite ergonomic and comfortable.
The interiors designed by the designer for residential and non-residential premises surprise with conciseness, often monochrome colors, a combination of flat and curved surfaces, a “cosmic” look of details, and a multi-level layout.
Futuristic design in unusual areas
Landmarks Zaha Hadid created not only in the field of architecture. One of her most original projects is a yacht that resembles a fantastic starship, which, due to a misunderstanding, turned out to be floating.
This project was developed in cooperation with the Hamburg-based shipbuilding company Blohm+Voss. The length of the base model is 128 meters, its smaller counterparts are 90 meters.
Yachts are designed for fast and ultra-fast movement, therefore, in addition to the usual engineering calculations, an analysis of hydrodynamic properties was carried out for them.
The interiors are distinguished by the maximum level of comfort, exceeding the usual equipment of luxury ships of this class.
The modern architecture of the world amazes with its extraordinary beauty, which is sometimes embodied in the most incredible forms. One such striking example of the "architecture of the future" is the direction of deconstructivism and the projects of the architect Zaha Hadid. Be In Trend chose 9 of Hadid's most striking architectural projects.
Zaha Hadid is a world-famous British architect of Arab origin today, who adheres to the direction of deconstructivism in her projects. This direction in modern architecture is characterized by visual complexity, unexpected broken and deliberately destructive forms, as well as an aggressive intrusion into the urban environment. Prominent representatives of the direction of deconstructivism, formed in the late 1980s, are Peter Eisenman, Daniel Libeskind, Rem Koolhaas. In turn, Zaha Hadid is a student of the famous Dutch architect and deconstructivist theorist Rem Koolhaas - having started her career in the office of her teacher OMA, in 1980 she founded her own architectural firm Zaha Hadid Architects.
Also in 2004, Zaha Hadid became the first female architect in history to be awarded the Pritzker Prize.
2012 - Galaxy Soho complex in Beijing (China)
More recently, Zaha Hadid Architects completed a project for a new multifunctional center in Beijing. The architecture of the complex consists of five continuous volumes, which, flowing into each other, form a single space Galaxy Soho. When designing the building, the designers were inspired by the architecture of ancient Chinese courtyards, trying to combine this with the needs of the rapidly developing modern Beijing. The building looks quite futuristic.
2012 - Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center in Baku (Azerbaijan)
The Cultural Center in Baku named after the 3rd President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev is a complex building that includes a congress center, a museum, exhibition halls and administrative offices. This center, like the building itself, is considered one of the symbols of modern Baku.
2012 - building in Montpellier (France)
In the French city of Montpellier, a spectacular administrative building Pierresvives appeared, which houses the library, archive and sports department of the Hérault department - the capital of Montpellier. As conceived by Hadid, the building looks like a horizontally branching tree.
2011 — Transport Museum in Glasgow (Scotland)
Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, the Transport Museum in Glasgow, Scotland is one of the newest and most modern cultural buildings in the city.
2010 - Guangzhou Opera House (China)
In 2011, an opera house designed by Hadid opened in the Chinese city of Guangzhou. The structure of the building is distinguished by the broken lines of the interior and exterior of the theater, which express the overall concept of Zaha Hadid in the style of "fluidity" and "transfusion".
2011 - Roca Gallery in London
The Roca Gallery in London was built for the Spanish bathroom brand Roca. The structure of the building is characterized by smooth and streamlined shapes, smooth surfaces and no corners. Hadid was inspired to make this choice by the beauty of natural lines in nature, where there are no sharp corners.
2010 - Brixton Academy (UK)
In 2010, the architectural studio Zaha Hadid implemented the project of the Evelyn Grace Academy school in Brixton (south London). The complex consists of four small schools, which are built in a zigzag pattern in harmony with running tracks and sports fields. 
2009 - National Museum of Art of the 21st century in Rome
In 1998, a competition was held to design the building of the National Museum of Art of the 21st Century in Rome, and Zaha Hadid's architectural firm won the competition. In 2009, a building appeared in Rome. It is the largest structure she has designed to date. The construction of a spiral concrete building with an area of 27 thousand square meters lasted 11 years.
1994 - Vitra fire station in Weil am Rhein (Germany)
Zaha Hadid is a famous British architect of Arab origin, whose amazing and incredible work has become famous all over the world. Let's learn a little about her and look at her completed projects and "projects within projects".
Zaha was born on October 31, 1950 in the city of Baghdad (Iraq). She received her primary education at a French school at a monastery in Baghdad, then went to Lebanon to study mathematics at one of the American universities, and then moved to London (Great Britain), where in 1972 she entered the Architectural Association.
Zaha's career began at OMA, under the supervision of a teacher, the famous Dutch architect Remment Koolhaas. And already in 1980, Hadid founded her own architectural studio called Zaha Hadid Architects.
Zaha has a weakness for unconventional architecture, distorted perspective, sharp angles and curved shapes. But most of the projects of her studio remain unrealized precisely because of the non-standard approach. And only ten years later, in 1990, Hadid received the first serious order to develop the Vitra fire station project, after which they began to talk about her as an unsurpassed master of deconstructivism.
In 1998, Zaha implements a new project - the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, located in Cincinnati (USA).
5. spaceship for Naomi
Her project of the futuristic tower "", located in Hong Kong, is noteworthy. The tower houses the university's School of Design with a spacious lecture hall, ten auditoriums and many design studios and workshops. Among other things, a design museum will appear here, temporary and permanent exhibitions will be held and an overview gallery will open.
7. futuristic tower
2004 - development of the project, the construction of which began in 2009. "Citylife" consists of seven "winding" buildings of different heights, from 5 to 13 floors each. Curved balconies and a sloping roof with wide covered terraces are a distinctive architectural element, giving the penthouses an elegant look.
9. Citylife complex
In 2004, Zaha receives official recognition from the public and becomes the first female architect to receive the Pritzker Prize.
In 2007, Zaha Hadid Architects is designing a new building -. The building, made according to the latest design, is a cultural complex that includes five functional areas - an art gallery, a museum, a design laboratory, an exhibition center and a park of the history and culture of the city with an area of 30,000 square meters. The curved façade is covered with more than forty-five thousand aluminum panels.
11. Dongdaemun design park & plaza
