Designing For The Future
ZAHA HADID ICONIC ARCHITECT
Iraqi born Zaha Hadid moved to London in 1970 to study architecture. The metropolis yet historic city, she felt was “too corporate and conservative” and ignited her mission to inject modernity and design a future beyond only her wildest imagination. She made her spectacular visions a global reality until her passing in 2016, at the age of 65, leaving behind no partner or kin, but only her design legacy, which continues with her successor, Patrik Schumacher.
The globally recognised architect created her company, ‘Zaha Hadid Architects’ based in London in 1980 and later opened an office in New York, where her controversial designs were frequently critically acclaimed by the media. The ‘New York Times’ reported, “ her soaring structures left a mark on skylines and imaginations and in the process re-shaped architecture for the modern age. Her buildings elevated uncertainty to an art, conveyed in the odd way one entered and moved through these buildings and in the questions that her structures raised about how they were supported. Hadid embodied, in its profligacy and promise, the era of so-called “starchitects” who roamed the planet in pursuit of their own creative genius, offering miracles, occasionally delivering.
DAME ZAHA HADID
Zaha Hadid broke industry female inequality barriers, being the first woman to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize, in 2004 and the first woman to be individually awarded the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architect. She was also made a Dame by the Queen for her contribution to the architectural industry.
Some of her most famous buildings around the world, include the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympics, the Broad Art Museum in America, the MAXXI Museum in Rome and the Guangzhou Opera House in China, and designs currently still under her construction since her passing include the Daxing International Airport in Beijing and the Al Wakrah Stadium in Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, very much highly anticipated.
DESIGNER COLLABORATIONS
Zaha Hadid, a true artist, used her unique talent and eye to diversify across fashion, jewellery and footwear. She joined forces with some of the biggest fashion names over the years to create unforgettable and ‘expertly blended’ fashion collaborations with Charlotte Olympia, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Adidas, Lacoste, Swarovski, George Jenson.
MARITIME GENIUS
When Germany’s innovative luxury shipbuilders Blohm + Voss, reached out to Zaha Hadid to create a design concept for a 128 metre super yacht, it was ‘maritime genius’ at its finest. The striking exoskeleton concept was completed for a collection of five yachts at an estimated net worth of £90 million for private owners. Hadid said of the collaboration, “Each yacht is an engineered platform that integrates specific hydrodynamic and structural demands together with the highest levels of comfort, spatial quality and safety.
From designing wine bottles for winemaker Leo Hillinger to furniture design for David Gill, she was rich in creative design partnerships, impacting a host of industry sectors from architecture, interior design to fashion and retail. To reminisce and reflect on her achievements and masterpieces the Zaha Hadid Gallery in London has become a cultural tourist destination for continued admiration and inspiration.