October 31 prominent British architect Zaha Hadid celebrated her anniversary
October 31 prominent British architect Zaha Hadid celebrated her anniversary. The editorial board of Tall Buildings magazine extends felicitations upon the artist birthday and wishes her inspiration and creative energy, which allows her to make people wonder and embody fantastic images into reality of architectural form. Each project of Ms. Hadid is worthy of a self-contained book. Below we commend to our readers’ attention a brief story about the architect’s creative career.
Over several decades Zaha Hadid has been opening new horizons in working with form and space. She is the most prominent and distinguished woman in the world of architecture, the first woman recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Zaha Hadid's projects dazzle with courage of a conception, sophisticated elegance of the form handling and mathematical exactness in turning imagination into reality.
Before achieving the world recognition, Ms. Hadid has overcome a huge number of prejudices connected with the possibility of a woman to defend her position in the world of serious architecture.
Zaha was born on October 31, 1950 in Baghdad (Iraq). After she got primary education at the French school at the monastery in Baghdad, the girl went to Lebanon to study mathematics in the branch of American university. Hadid obtained the diploma and decided to try to build her career in London - in 1972 she came to Architectural Association School of Architecture. As a young specialist, Hadid started working in the renowned architectural bureau OMA under the leadership of Rem Koolhaas, the master of the Dutch architecture. This experience allowed this talented and very courageous woman to open in 1980 her own practice – Zaha Hadid Architects
The creative method of Hadid is based on breaking the stereotypes and transformation of standard buildings into incredibly fluid and spectacular spatial designs. Her works are featured witha variety of smoothed angles, twirled and curved lines, multiple layers and liquidity of forms. It took the society 10 years to believe that ideas of Hadid were not only dramatically beautiful, but also quite realistic. Only in 1990, being the renowned architect in the professional community, Hadid was commissioned with the first serious order for development of the Vitra Fire Station. Treated in aesthetics of Deconstructivism, the structure has an emphasis on the acute-angled roof and abundance of the inclined planes. The project brought Hadid the deserved recognition of the master of modern architecture. The following large completed project,the one that caused a great stir in the world about the special manner of Hadid was the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Arts in Cincinnati, USA (1998).
Major breakthrough in the public perception always needs time. Zaha Hadid managed to overcome public inertia. Having a really mighty aspiration to realize her imminent talent, she managed to convince the world that there is no more dignified mission for her than she had already chosen. Howsoever people feel about architecture of Zaha Hadid, she has already won her niche in the temple of architectural fame as the first great woman who competed on equal ground with eminent stars-architects and successfully won due to her sharp talent and extensive insight of the latest architectural trends. Moreover, she is one of those people who form new vectors of development of the modern architecture.
Since the beginning of new century her spectacular works followed one by one. Hadid created both small pavilions and large public complexes, designs of private country houses and futuristic towers. The house-spaceship designed for Russian billionaire Vladislav Doronin was further proceeded in the shape of a conceptual futuristic Jockey Club Innovation Tower in Hong Kong.
In 2004 Hadid’s Bureau developed the project of a residential district consisting of seven "twisted" buildings called CityLife. The dominant architectural elements of the complex are dynamically curved balconies and a slanted roof with the wide covered terraces. In 2007 Zaha Hadid Architects designed the cultural complex Dongdaemun Design Park & Plaza where continuous curves again dominated.
Sharp black and white contrasts in the background of plastic fluidity and mutual penetration of spaces form a frequent motive in the works of the British architect. Library and Learning Center in Vienna built in 2008 is also subject to this style.
Striking contrasts are also the basis of the color score of interior spaces of the first Moscow masterpiece of Hadid–the Dominion Office Building (2015).
One of the major works of Zaha Hadid is the MAXXI: National Museum of the XXI Century Arts in Rome.Certain techniques embodied in this project, have been developed in other works created in the same period. In 2009 Zaha and her team designed Galaxy SOHO – a new office, retail entertainment complex for Beijing consisted of five huge stylized domes of a unique curved form connected with each other by means of the covered flexuous transfer-bridges.
Zaha Hadid also has contributed in the field of high-rise construction showing the prospects of her architectural vision. The 143-meter high glass 33-storeyed skyscraper Tour CMA CGM constructed in the port of Marseille in 2010 was recognized the third among the most interesting completed skyscrapers of the year.
One more project also completed in 2010 by architectural studio of Zaha Hadid was Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton. The academic buildings forming a zigzag sprout through the race tracks and sports grounds. A great artistic achievement of Hadid became a project of Glasgow Riverside Museum of Transport, which roof resembles a lightning or a diagram of cardiac impulse on the electric motor. In 2011 was commissioned the Guangzhou Opera House, where combined fractures of interior spaces and of external forms of the building make an impression of unreal fluidity of space.
Incredibly poetical are the recent London designs of Hadid. Roca London Gallery is featured with its smooth and streamline shapes, flat surfaces and lack of corners. Similar to a graceful design hat, the wavy roof of Serpentine Sackler Gallery based on three supports falls almost to the earth, and from within is supported by five columns.
In 2012 in Montpellier was completed elegant administrative Pierresvives complex, which outline resembles of a horizontally branching tree. The same year in the capital of Azerbaijan was completed spectacular building of Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center.
The cities decorated with fantastic and remarkable buildings according to the projects of this amazing woman prove that our life can be brighter. At the end of September, 2015,the Royal Institute of British Architects has announced that the architect Dame Zaha Hadid will receive the 2016 Royal Gold Medal, the first woman to be awarded the prestigious honour in her own right.
The gallery of the selected projects of Zaha Hadid
