Coming from a traditional Muslim society, she still dared to embrace the profession of architecture despite being a female; she loved breaking barriers and became a role model for so many in her lifetime. She liberated architectural geometry with the creation of highly expressive, sweeping fluid forms. Her designs involve multiple perspective points and fragmented geometry, a reflection of modern world’s chaos and turbulence.
Zaha Mohammad Hadid; born in Baghdad, Iraq on October 31, 1950, is considered a pioneer of parametricism. Her ground-breaking, free-flowing forms and her strong, fearless personality made her an icon of neo-futurism.
An elite upbringing
Zaha Hadid was born to an upper class Iraqi family; her father was an industrialist and influential politician. Her mother was an artist, transmitting the creative genes to her daughter. Zaha got an elite upbringing, attending boarding schools in England and Switzerland.
With an aim of turning a professional, Zaha studied mathematics at the American University of Beirut; however, her artistic tendency took over later and she studied architecture from the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London.
Multi dimensional career
Zaha Hadid was a multi dimensional talent. Even though her innovative designs and experimental style drew world’s attention and she was considered one of the pioneers of contemporary avant-garde architecture; she was never constrained by any professional boundaries. She was an architect par excellence no doubt, but she was also an inspirational teacher; teaching at various times in her career at Harvard Graduate School of Design, Architectural Association School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Architecture, and many other institutes. She was a guest professor at many top architectural schools and a board of trustee of architecture foundation.
Zaha was also a brilliant interior designer, undertaking several high profile projects, the most famous being the Mind Zone at Millennium Dome in London.
She tried her hand at furniture design and other products also, and her fluid furniture designs for Home House private members club at Marylebone, and hydrogen-powered three-wheeled automobile impressed one and all with their ingenuity and functionality.
Her creativity led Zaha to design high-fashioned garments and boots too when she associated with clothing brand Lacoste in 2009. Similarly, she collaborated with brassware manufacturer Triflow Concepts to come up with some fascinating designs in her trademark parametric style.
A distinct Zaha Hadid architectural style
Despite working in an era of many exceptional architects, Zaha Hadid had a style of her own. She was original to the core, her free-flowing designs bearing her distinct signature. Zaha Hadid Architects, established in 1980, is headquartered in London, and employs more than 400 employees. Zaha created some most remarkable buildings in her career, but her conceptual designs are just as remarkable as those projects that were actually executed. Here is a list of some of her most talked about projects:
- Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center, Baku, Azerbaijan
- Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
- Vitra Fire Station, Weil am Rhein, Germany
- BMW Central Building, Leipzig, Germany
- Maggie’s Centers at the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldi, Scotland
- Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou, China
Zaha Hadid, an extraordinary architect, an amazing personality, died on 31 March, 2016 after a brief illness. She had the reputation of being world’s top female architect and she definitely earned the reputation. Her architecture was organic, dynamic and sculptural; her thinking unconventional. She is also considered a leader of deconstructivism in architecture; her famous exhibition on deconstructivism in 1988 first made the world take notice of her immense talent.
Zaha Hadid won several awards for her innovative work, she was the first female architect to win the RIBA gold medal for her contribution to the field of architecture. We shall talk about some of her works in our future posts.
Resources
www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/zaha-hadid-5626.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaha_Hadid
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Zaha-Hadid
https://www.vanityfair.fr/culture/voir-lire/diaporama/les-10-stars-de-larchi/6048
https://in.pinterest.com/pin/4095467785651525
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sandeep Singh is an architect from IIT Roorkee.
Ten years after graduating, he lost his vision to genetic Diabetes.
He reinvented his career and turned writer.
He has authored two fiction books and writes blogs on
Architecture, Outsourcing, Safety and a variety of other
subjects for different organizations. He also chairs and runs two NGOs