Zaha Hadid: 4 Facts to Know
Meet the architect who transformed modern architecture with her sleek, futuristic masterpieces.
The Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid (1950-2016) is considered one of the world's foremost architects. Through her futuristic works, characterized by dynamic movement, sweeping curves and organic structures, Hadid revolutionized modern architecture. Here are four facts you may not have known about Hadid:
1. Suprematism was her inspiration
Zaha Hadid never stuck to a specific architectural style as she did not want to limit her creativity to a single movement. Early in her career, she drew inspiration from Kazimir Malevich and the Russian art movement Suprematism. Hadid was inspired by Malevich's oeuvre, which was characterized by divided geometric patterns and dynamic energy. By pushing the traditional boundaries of architecture, her early works explored the potential for dynamism and distortion, as did Malevich's paintings.
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2. No right angles
Her main characteristic is curvature. The buildings she designed were organic and gave the impression that they were in motion. This became her architectural signature and she was associated with these undulating forms so much that she was called "Queen of the Curve". Hadid loved both curves and diagonal lines so much that she never designed a building with straight lines. Her teacher, the architect Elia Zenghelis, said that "she was the inventor of 89 degrees, nothing was done in 90 degrees."
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An example of this is the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan. The monumental building is designed to appear like a wave sweeping over the ground. The material, fiberglass-reinforced polyester, makes the exterior seem malleable. The construction was also intended as a reaction to the city's Soviet architecture as well as traditional Azeri architecture.
3. A female pioneer in architecture
During her career, Zaha Hadid met with opposition and criticism because of her radical ideas, but also because of her gender. She believed that the male-dominated profession was not ready for talented women. But thanks to her determination and outstanding work, she eventually managed to become one of the world's foremost female architects.
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Her architectural masterpieces led to several prestigious awards. In 2004 she became the first female recipient of the Pritzker Prize and six years later she had the 69th place on Forbes list "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women".
4. She designed furniture too
Hadid was not only active as an architect but also as an interior and furniture designer. In 2012, she designed the Liquid Glacial series in collaboration with the David Gill Gallery in London. The series consists of tables and chairs made of clear and colored acrylic. Like Hadid's architectural work, she pushed the boundaries of material and form. The curved shapes of the series mimic melting glacier ice. One of these tables was sold at Sotheby's 2018 for an astonishing $300,000.
