Zaha Hadid, the ‘Queen of the Curve’ gave us some of the most intriguing and instilling designs of our times which will continue to shape our ideas and our vision for the challenging road ahead.
Not bound by any cages of existing ideologies, her work cannot be easily classified under any of the existing categories, but has been identified to be a contributor to the theories of Deconstructivism and also an example of Parametricism.
Her works can be best described as an expressive art form of modernism, sweeping fluidic forms of multiple perspectives, she is known to have liberated the architectural geometry.
As once quoted by her, ‘the idea is not to have any 90-degree angles.‘
Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku Azerbaijan
The Heydaf Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan is a gigantic cultural and conference centre containing three auditoriums, a library and museum. Hadid wrote that “its fluid form emerges from the folds of the natural topography of the landscape and envelops the different functions of the centre.”
No straight line was used in the project of the complex. The shape of the building is wave-like and the overall view is unique and harmonic. Such an architectural structure stands for post-modernist architecture and forms oceanic feeling. The lines of the building symbolise the merging of past and future.
Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul, Korea
The Dongdaemun Design Plaza is among the largest buildings in Seoul, South Korea. Its name means “Great Gate of the East”, in reference to the old walls of the city. This striking structure resembles a UFO that may have landed itself here.
Hadid wrote that the principal characteristics of her design were “transparency, porousness, and durability.”
Guangzhou Opera House
The Guangzhou Opera House complex comprises of an 1,800-seat theatre, a multipurpose theatre, entry hall, and salon. A covered pathway with restaurants and shops separates the two main structures.
The architect referred to it as the, “Two Pebbles”.
Sheikh Zayed Bridge
Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Abu Dhabi, features both, its design and the lighting, consisting of gradually changing colours, were designed to give the impression of movement.
The silhouette of the bridge is a ‘Wave’.
Riverside Museum, Glasgow, Scotland
The Riverside Museum on the banks of River Clyde Glasgow, Scotland, houses the, Glasgow Museum of Transport.
Hadid described the building-gallery space, as “a wave”, “folds in movement”, and “a shed in the form of a tunnel, open at the extreme ends, one end toward the city and the other toward the Clyde.”
London Olympics Aquatics Centre
Hadid described her Aquatics Centre in London as “inspired by the fluid geometry of water in movement.”
The roof, made of steel and aluminium and covered with wood on the inside, rests on just three supports; it is in the form of a parabolic arch which dips in the centre, with the two pools at either end.
Galaxy SOHO, Beijing, China
The Galaxy SOHO in Beijing, China is a combination of offices and a commercial centre in the heart of Beijing, composed of four different ovoid glass-capped buildings joined together by multiple curving passageways on different levels.
Hadid explained, “the interior spaces follow the same coherent formal logic of continual curvilinearity.” The complex, like most of her buildings, gives the impression that every part of them is in motion.
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