Chinese heritage group “offended” by Zaha Hadid’s RIBA Award for Galaxy Soho

Chinese heritage group "offended" by Zaha Hadid's RIBA Award for Galaxy Soho

News: a heritage group in Beijing has written an open letter to the Royal Institute of British Architects saying it is “disappointed and offended” that Zaha Hadid’s Galaxy Soho complex has been given an RIBA International Award.

The letter from the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center attacked the RIBA‘s decision to award the 330,000-square-metre retail, office and entertainment complex in Beijing, which it labeled a “typical unfortunate example [of] the destruction of Beijing old town.”

“The Galaxy Soho project has violated a number of heritage preservation laws and regulations,” said the letter. “It has also caused great damage to the preservation of the old Beijing streetscape, the original urban plan, the traditional Hutong and courtyard houses.”

The letter urged the RIBA to “have a deeper understanding of the current situation in modern Chinese society.” It claims the award could encourage developers and authorities to continue with the “destruction of cultural heritage sites”, which it says has “been a very common offence committed by many of the growing rich and powerful.”

Zaha Hadid’s Galaxy Soho complex photographed from the surrounding streets by Hufton + Crow

The building is also one of three projects nominated for this year’s RIBA Lubetkin Prize, alongside Gardens by the Bay by Grant Associates and Wilkinson Eyre Architects in Singapore and an affordable housing project in New York by by Dattner Architects and Grimshaw.

“These cutting-edge schemes show the leading role that architects play in delivering visionary new thinking about urban issues,” said RIBA president Angela Brady on the announcement of the shortlist last month.

Completed in October last year, the Galaxy Soho complex comprises four domed structures fused together by bridges and platforms between curving floor plates.

Check out more photos of the structure taken from the surrounding streets here and take a movie tour through the complex here.

More about architecture and design by Zaha Hadid »
More about architecture in China »

Here’s the full letter from the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center:


An Open Letter to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) on Its 2013 RIBA Award for Galaxy Soho

To Whom It May Concern at RIBA:

From the recent Weibo (Sina miniblog) post by the Honorable Ambassador of the United Kingdom, we have learned that the Galaxy Soho project, designed by British Architect Zaha Hadid, has won the 2013 RIBA award. Many of us in China were very shocked when they learned this news. The Galaxy Soho project has violated a number of heritage preservation laws and regulations, including the Measures for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Landmarks of Beijing, The Beijing City Master Plan, and Plans for Protection of Historical and Cultural Landmarks of Beijing. It has also caused great damage to the preservation of the old Beijing streetscape, the original urban plan, the traditional Hutong and courtyard houses, the landscape formation, and the style and color scheme of Beijing’s unique vernacular architecture. During the land acquisition process, the legal rights of the original hutong residents were also grossly disregarded. The Galaxy Soho Project is definitely a typical unfortunate example on the destruction of Beijing old town; but, not withstanding, it has been selected as a winner of your award. Many of us in Beijing are very disappointed and offended.

The destruction of cultural heritage sites and the violation of the public cultural rights have been a very common offense committed by many of the growing rich and powerful in Chinese society. Some developers work hand-in-hand with some corrupted officials to encroach upon the precious cultural heritage which should be enjoyed by the entire society, while they accumulate their own personal wealth. Due to the incompetence of law enforcement institutions, this kind of destruction is growing quickly, and the deliberate neglect is epidemic.

Many residents of Beijing, including us, sincerely wish that your institution would have a deeper understanding of the current situation in modern Chinese society, the severe challenges facing cultural heritage preservation in China, as well as the indecent conduct of many greedy developers. We strongly believe that this award by your institution will only encourage these developers and authorities to continue to commit the wrongs they have done and will increase the difficulties of cultural heritage preservation in China.

We sincerely hope that RIBA will understand this sorrow and concern of the Chinese people and take action to help make up for the negative impact this award has caused.

Earnestly,

Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP)

The post Chinese heritage group “offended” by
Zaha Hadid’s RIBA Award for Galaxy Soho
appeared first on Dezeen.

Zaha Hadid’s Serpentine Sackler Gallery to open in September

Completion date announced for Zaha Hadid's Serpentine Sackler Gallery

News: Zaha Hadid’s extension to the Serpentine Gallery in London is to open on 28 September.

The Serpentine Sackler Gallery will be housed in a 200-year-old former gunpowder store five minutes walk to the north of the main gallery in Kensington Gardens, across the Serpentine Bridge.

Completion date announced for Zaha Hadid's Serpentine Sackler Gallery
Design for Serpentine Sackler Gallery by Zaha Hadid Architects

Zaha Hadid Architects have created an undulating white canopy to the side of the Grade II listed building, which will contain gallery, restaurant and social space. This will be the firm’s first permanent structure in central London and follows its Lilas installation at the gallery in 2007.

Read more about the extension in our earlier story.

More architecture by Zaha Hadid »
More about the Serpentine Gallery »

Main photograph is by Luke Hayes.

Here’s some more information from the Serpentine Gallery:


Serpentine Sackler Gallery designed by Zaha Hadid to open in September 2013

The Serpentine Sackler Gallery, designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate Zaha Hadid, will open to the public on Saturday, 28 September 2013.

The Serpentine Sackler Gallery gives new life to The Magazine, a former 1805 gunpowder store, located five minutes walk from the Serpentine Gallery on the north side of the Serpentine Bridge. With 900 square metres of new gallery, restaurant and social space, the Serpentine’s second space in Kensington Gardens will be a new cultural destination in the heart of London. From this autumn, the Serpentine will present its unrivalled programme of exhibitions and events across both Galleries and into the Park.

Completion date announced for Zaha Hadid's Serpentine Sackler Gallery
Location of the new gallery in converted Magazine building

The new Gallery is named after Dr Mortimer and Dame Theresa Sackler, whose Foundation has made the project possible through the largest single gift received by the Serpentine Gallery in its 43-year history. Major funding has also been awarded by Bloomberg, long term supporters of the Serpentine as well as sponsors of the opening exhibition.

In 2010 the Serpentine Gallery won the tender from The Royal Parks to bring the Grade II* listed building into public use for the first time in its 208-year history. The Serpentine Gallery has restored the building to an excellent standard, in partnership with The Royal Parks, renovating and extending it to designs by Zaha Hadid. A light and transparent extension compliments rather than competes with the neo-classical architecture of the original building. It is the Zaha Hadid Architects’ first permanent structure in central London and continues a relationship between the Gallery and the architect, which began with the inaugural Serpentine Gallery Pavilion Commission in 2000. The landscape around the new building will be designed and planted by the world-renowned landscape artist Arabella Lennox-Boyd.

Completion date announced for Zaha Hadid's Serpentine Sackler Gallery
The Royal Parks’ Magazine Building before conversion to the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. Photograph is by John Offenbach.

The opening exhibition in the Serpentine Sackler Gallery is the first UK exhibition by the young Argentinian artist Adrián Villar Rojas, who is gaining international renown for his dramatic, large-scale sculptural works. At the same time, in the Serpentine Gallery, there will be a major retrospective of the work by Italian sculptor Marisa Merz, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Venice Biennale. A redesigned website will feature the inaugural Digital Commission, while the first annual Bridge Commission explores the route between the two galleries with a series of short stories by twelve internationally acclaimed writers. Each story is timed to last as long as it takes to walk from the Serpentine Gallery to the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. The Serpentine’s expanded presence in Kensington Gardens will be illustrated by a specially commissioned map by the artist Michael Craig-Martin.

Responding to its unique location in The Royal Park of Kensington Gardens, an expanded programme of eight exhibitions will now follow the seasons with different shows in each gallery four times a year. The seasonal theme carries through to the wider programme with the Pavilion commission signalling the start of London’s summer and the multi-disciplinary Marathon, a fixture of Frieze week in the autumn. The Serpentine’s programme of outdoor sculpture with The Royal Parks continues with Fischli/Weiss’s monumental Rock on Top of Another Rock, which remains in place until March 2014.

The opening of the Serpentine Sackler Gallery marks a new beginning for the internationally acclaimed arts organisation, which has championed new ideas in contemporary arts since it opened in 1970. The Serpentine Gallery has presented pioneering exhibitions of 1,600 artists over 43 years, from the work of emerging practitioners to the most internationally recognised artists and architects of our time such as Louise Bourgeois, Frank Gehry, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter, Yoko Ono, Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei.

The post Zaha Hadid’s Serpentine Sackler Gallery
to open in September
appeared first on Dezeen.

Movie: Galaxy Soho by Zaha Hadid Architects

Take a tour through the spaces of Zaha Hadid’s Galaxy Soho complex in Beijing, China, in this movie by architectural photographer Dan Chung.

Galaxy Soho by Zaha Hadid Architects

Completed at the end of 2012, the 330,000-square-metre complex accommodates shops, offices and leisure facilities within a cluster of four striated domes. Courtyards and pathways weave between the buildings, while bridges and platforms form connections on the upper levels.

Galaxy Soho by Zaha Hadid Architects

“The design responds to the varied contextual relationships and dynamic conditions of Beijing,” said Zaha Hadid at the opening. “We have created a variety of public spaces that directly engage with the city, reinterpreting the traditional urban fabric and contemporary living patterns into a seamless urban landscape inspired by nature.”

Galaxy Soho by Zaha Hadid Architects

See more images of the project in our original story, or see a second set of photographs that shows how the building integrates with its surrounding context. See more architecture by Zaha Hadid »

Galaxy Soho by Zaha Hadid Architects

We’ve noticed a trend recently for striations and strata – horizontal layers of material such as sedimentary rocks – in architecture. See our archive of geologically inspired projects »

Movie is by Dan Chung. Additional photography is by Hufton + Crow.

The post Movie: Galaxy Soho by
Zaha Hadid Architects
appeared first on Dezeen.

Messner Mountain Museum Corones by Zaha Hadid Architects

Zaha Hadid has revealed images of her addition to the Messner Mountain Museum, a string of buildings dotted through the Dolomites of northern Italy.

Messner Mountain Museum by Zaha Hadid

For the sixth and final Messner Mountain Museum building, Zaha Hadid Architects has designed a softly curved building that will tunnel right through the peak of Mount Kronplatz, which forms part of the Kronplatz ski resort.

Like the five other museum buildings, the structure will house exhibitions exploring mountainous regions around the world. A pointed glass canopy will mark the entrance to the building, while a viewing platform will extend from the rockface on the opposite side.

Messner Mountain Museum by Zaha Hadid

“A composition of fluid, interconnected volumes, the 1000 square-metre MMM Corones design is carved within the mountain and informed by the geology and topography of its context,” says the studio.

Construction is already underway and the museum is set to open in 2014.

Messner Mountain Museum by Zaha Hadid
Cross section – click for larger image

The Messner Mountain Museum also includes a building in a converted castle, completed by Italian studio EM2 in 2011.

Zaha Hadid Architects has several buildings nearing completion at the moment, including a university block in Hong Kong and an undulating cultural centre in Azerbaijan. See more architecture by Zaha Hadid »

Here’s a project description from Zaha Hadid Architects:


Zaha Hadid Architects will design the sixth and final Messner Mountain Museum at Plan de Corones, South Tyrol, Italy. In collaboration with Reinhold Messner, one of the world’s most renowned mountaineers, as well as Kronplatz, the largest ski resort in the region, the Messner Mountain Museum (MMM Corones) is embedded within Mount Kronplatz.

“Located at the top of Mount Kronplatz with its unique views of the Dolomites, MMM Corones is the final piece in my series of mountain museums. Dedicated to the great rock faces of the world, the museum will focus on the discipline of mountaineering,” explains Reinhold Messner.

Inaugurated in 2003, the Concordia 2000 Peace Bell was the first step in combining cultural facilities with the sporting and recreational amenities at Mount Kronplatz. The MMM Corones adds a further cultural and educational element to this popular Alpine destination.

A composition of fluid, interconnected volumes, the 1000 sq. m. MMM Corones design is carved within the mountain and informed by the geology and topography of its context. A sharp glass canopy, like a fragment of glacial ice, rises from the rock to mark and protect the museum’s entrance.

Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects
Design: Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher
Project Architect: Cornelius Schlotthauer
Design Team: Cornelius Schlotthauer Peter Irmscher
Execution Team: Peter Irmscher Markus Planteu Claudia Wulf
Structural Engineer: IPM
Mechanical Engineer + Fire Protection: Jud & Partner
Electrical Engineer: Studio GM

The post Messner Mountain Museum Corones
by Zaha Hadid Architects
appeared first on Dezeen.

Zaha Hadid Cultural Center For Azerbaijan

L’ouverture du centre culturel azerbaïdjanais de Bakou, conçu par la très célèbre architecte Zaha Hadid, est prévue pour septembre 2013. Il regroupe de nombreuses fonctions qui devraient en faire à la fois un véritable pôle d’attraction pour la ville, et un promoteur de la culture azerbaïdjanaise. À découvrir en images.

 width=

 width=

 width=

 width=

 width=

 width=

 width=

 width=

 width=

 width=

 width=

 width=

 width=

zh
zh1
zh3
zh4
zh5
zh6
zh12
zh7
zh8
zh9
zh10
zh11
zh2

Zaha Hadid sets her sights on New York’s High Line

News: London architect Zaha Hadid has unveiled plans for an 11-storey apartment block that will be constructed beside New York’s popular High Line park.

The residential building is to be built on West 28th Street and will provide approximately 37 apartments overlooking one of New York’s most visited tourist attractions. It will also be Zaha Hadid’s first project in the city.

Hadid’s proposal is for a glass and steel building that will integrate a chevron pattern in its facade. “Our design is an integration of volumes that flow into each other and, following a coherent formal language, create the sensibility of the building’s overall ensemble,” she said.

“With an arrangement that reinvents the spatial experience, each residence will have its own distinctive identity, offering multiple perspectives and exciting views of the neighbourhood,” she added.

Commissioned by New York developer Related Companies, the building will feature a range of luxury features, including a grand double-height foyer, a large roof terrace and an indoor pool and spa. Apartments will feature 3.3 metre-high ceilings and most will have their own private entrance foyers.

The High Line, photographed by Iwan Baan

The High Line has been a catalyst for development in New York since its first section opened in 2009. In a recent interview, designer Steven Burks told us: “For decades [the High Line] was an overgrown railroad track, left over from an era when elevated trains roared through Manhattan. Today it’s a multi-million dollar park that’s welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors a day.” See more stories about the High Line »

Zaha Hadid has already been in the news over the last week, as projects in Hong Kong and Azerbaijan near completion. See more architecture by Zaha Hadid »

Here’s a press release from Related Companies:


Related Companies commissions Zaha Hadid Architects to design boutique residential condominium on the High Line at 520 West 28th Street

Related Companies, New York’s premier residential developer, today announced that it has commissioned world renowned Zaha Hadid Architects to design a boutique condominium adjacent to the High Line at 520 West 28th Street in Chelsea just south of Hudson Yards. The 11-storey residential development will mark Hadid’s first commission in New York City, leaving an indelible mark on the High Line’s architecture map and continuing Related’s storied history of partnering with world-class architects and designers.

“We are proud to partner with Zaha Hadid Architects and to continue Related’s commitment to the very best in urban architecture,” said Jeff Blau, CEO of Related Companies. “This development will be truly unique within the city’s architectural offerings, and will pave the way for future architectural achievements on Manhattan’s west side.”

The development’s bold design captures the richness of the location’s vibrant and historic urban context, where a fascinating interplay between the city and the High Line has created a powerful urban dynamic among the elevated park and surrounding streetscape. The same interplay is seen within the building’s design; a chevron pattern enhances the sculpted exterior, at once separating and merging the two distinct zones. The innovative concept further develops this contextual relationship, giving each residence the highest degree of originality.

“Our design is an integration of volumes that flow into each other and, following a coherent formal language, create the sensibility of the building’s overall ensemble,” explained Zaha Hadid, founder of London-based Zaha Hadid Architects and the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize. “With an arrangement that reinvents the spatial experience, each residence will have its own distinctive identity, offering multiple perspectives and exciting views of the neighbourhood.”

Zaha Hadid, founder of Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), is known internationally for her built, theoretical and academic work. Each of her projects builds on over thirty years of exploration and research in the interrelated fields of urbanism, architecture and design. ZHA’s interest lies in the interface between architecture and its context as the practice integrates natural topography and human-made systems, leading to experimentation with new technologies. Such a process often results in unexpected and dynamic architectural forms.

The firm’s previous work at The MAXXI: National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome, Italy and the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympic Games demonstrate ZHA’s exploration of fluid space. Previous seminal buildings such as the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati and the Guangzhou Opera House in China have also been hailed as architecture that transforms our ideas of the future with new spatial concepts and visionary forms.

The 11-storey development will feature approximately 37 residences of up to 5,500 square feet, focusing on expansive, gracious layouts with 11-foot ceilings, thoughtful technological integration and state-of-the-art finishes and features. Designed with multiple elevator cores, a majority of the residences will have a private vestibule and entrance that adds to the intimacy of the building.

Residents of 520 West 28th Street can enjoy the High Line while maintaining privacy and exclusivity. The double-height entrance lobby offers glimpses beyond to the residents’ communal spaces and an outdoor garden. The generous terraces and courtyard further enhance the residential experience and a substantial roof terrace, indoor pool and spa, entertainment space and playrooms give even greater opportunities to relax and entertain. These offerings will be part of a rich services and amenities program befitting the discerning luxury buyer to which the property will appeal.

In addition to the enchanting High Line park adjacent to the building, the property will benefit from exciting nearby additions, including Avenues: The World School, and numerous hot new restaurants. The site will also hold an important place within Related’s footprint in this valuable neighbourhood – the company is soon launching a new luxury rental property at 30th Street and 10th Avenue as well as the much anticipated Hudson Yards project. This dramatic 26-acre mixed-use development two blocks to the north will include residential, office, retail, parks, open space, culture and entertainment. The first tower, the South Tower, will open in 2015.

The post Zaha Hadid sets her sights
on New York’s High Line
appeared first on Dezeen.

Innovation Tower at Hong Kong Polytechnic University by Zaha Hadid Architects

Hong Kong-based architecture photographer Edmon Leong has sent us a set of exclusive photos of Zaha Hadid’s nearly-completed Innovation Tower at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (+ slideshow).

The 76 metre-high building, located on the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus close to Hung Hom station in Kowloon, is being built to house the institution’s design school.

Innovation Tower at Hong Kong Polytechnic University by Zaha Hadid Architects. Image copyright Edmon Leong.

Providing 12,00 square metres of space for 1,500 students, the project is part of a strategy to turn Hong Kong into a leading design hub in Asia.

The building is conceived as a variant of the tower-and-podium typology, with the concrete podium and the louvred tower visually united by flowing forms.

Zaha Hadid Architects were appointed to design the building in 2008. “The Innovation Tower design dissolves the classic typology of the tower and the podium into a seamless piece,” Hadid said at the time. “The design unashamedly aims to stimulate a vision of possibilities for the future whilst reflecting the history of the institution.”

Innovation Tower at Hong Kong Polytechnic University by Zaha Hadid Architects. Image copyright Edmon Leong.

Hadid first came to international prominence in 1983 for a project designed for Hong Kong – a hilltop spa and leisure club called The Peak that was never built.

“I am delighted to be working in Hong Kong again,” Hadid said when the Hong Kong Polytechnic University project was announced. “The city has such diversity in its landscapes and history; this is reflected in an urbanism of layering and porosity. Our own explorations and research into an architecture of seamless fluidity follows this paradigm so evident in Hong Kong.”

She added: “One of our seminal projects was designed for the city exactly 25 years ago, and the Innovation Tower design is a realization of this continued research.”

All images are copyright Edmon Leong and used with permission.

The post Innovation Tower at Hong Kong Polytechnic
University by Zaha Hadid Architects
appeared first on Dezeen.

Heydar Aliyev Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects

Here are the first photographs of Zaha Hadid’s almost-completed Heydar Aliyev Centre, an undulating cultural centre in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Heydar Aliyev Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects

Expected to open in September, the 57,000 square-metre building is designed by Zaha Hadid Architects as a fluid volume that folds up from the landscape to form a single continuous surface.

Heydar Aliyev Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects
Front elevation perspective render

Glazed openings between folds will offer entrances, leading into the library, museum and conference centre contained inside.

Heydar Aliyev Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects
Side elevation perspective render

The building was recently nominated for awards at both this year’s World Architecture Festival and the biennial Inside Festival.

Heydar Aliyev Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects
Site plan – click for larger image

In the last year Hadid has completed several buildings, including a 142-metre tower in Marseille and a 330,000-square-metre retail, office and entertainment complex in Beijing.

Heydar Aliyev Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects
Building elevation – click for larger image

She also recently purchased the current building of the Design Museum in London and is planning to convert it into an archive of her studio’s designs. See more stories about Zaha Hadid »

The post Heydar Aliyev Centre by
Zaha Hadid Architects
appeared first on Dezeen.

Zaha Hadid’s Riverside Museum Named European Museum of the Year


(Photo: Alan McAteer)

Visitors can arrive at Riverside Museum in Glasgow by foot, bicycle, bus, subway, train, ferry, or car. The variety of options is fitting for Scotland’s “Museum of Transport and Travel,” which opened the doors to its new home, designed by Zaha Hadid, in June 2011. The museum bested a field of 40 museums from 21 countries to take the title of 2013 European Museum of the Year, an honor presented last month in Belgium. Judging for the 36-year-old award is based on “public quality,” the extent to which a museum satisfies the needs and wishes of its visitors.

The jagged outline of the Riverside Museum “enscapsulates a wave or pleat, flowing from city to waterfront, symbolizing the dynamic relationship between Glasgow and the shipbuilding, seafaring, and industrial legacy of the river Clyde,” according to Hadid. Views through the building’s clear glass facades reveal one of its most memorable features: pistachio-hued walls. Chosen by Hadid in consultation with the exhibition designers, the color makes for a warm yet striking backdrop for displays that range from a wall of automobiles and a ceiling-mounted swirl of bikes to exhibits about long-sunken paddle steamers and glam tramcars from the 1930s.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Prima installation by Zaha Hadid for Swarovski at Vitra Campus

An angular installation by Zaha Hadid has been unveiled in front of the architect’s Fire Station at the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany (+ slideshow).

Prima by Zaha Hadid at Vitra Campus_5

The work was commissioned by crystal manufacturer Swarovski to mark the twentieth anniversary of the opening of the Vitra Fire Station, Zaha Hadid‘s first completed building.

Called Prima, it comprises five components that can be arranged in different configurations to create adaptable seating landscapes.

Prima by Zaha Hadid at Vitra Campus_2

Hadid’s original drawings for the Fire Station were translated into three-dimensional fragmented forms to create the seating. Highly polished surfaces reflect the sky and the angles of the nearby building, while strips of LED lighting illuminate the structure at night.

“I have a particular affection for Vitra Fire Station as it was my first building,” says Hadid. “Returning to Vitra to work with Swarovski on this installation has been a very rewarding experience.”

Prima will be on show at the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany, from tomorrow until 11 August.

Prima by Zaha Hadid at Vitra Campus_6

First established in the 1980s, the Vitra Campus has become well-known as an unofficial museum of contemporary architecture, including Herzog & de Meuron’s VitraHaus showroom, the Vitra Design Museum by Frank Gehry and a conference hall by Tadao Ando.

A SANAA-designed Factory Building is the latest addition, opened in April, and the building proposed for the site will be a children’s art workshop by Chilean architect Ale­jan­dro Ar­ave­na.

Prima by Zaha Hadid at Vitra Campus_8

Zaha Hadid has recently proposed a masterplan for a site beside a lagoon in Izmir as part of Turkey’s bid to host the World Expo 2020 and has also been appointed to design a stadium in Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Prima by Zaha Hadid at Vitra Campus_1

More about architecture and design by Zaha Hadid »
More about the Vitra Campus »

Photography is by Hélène Binet, unless stated otherwise.

Here’s some more information from Swarovski:


A spectacular new Swarovski commission – Prima

Swarovski has commissioned Zaha Hadid to create a celebratory installation marking the completion twenty years ago of her first major built project, the Fire Station at Vitra Campus, Weil am Rhein, Germany.

The installation, entitled Prima, is an angular piece made from five highly polished components that can be moved into different configurations. It will be installed in front of the Fire Station, reflecting and honouring the design process of the building. The project recalls the dynamism of Hadid’s original drawings created for the Vitra Fire Station, exploding in three dimensions from the lines and planes of the paintings and sketches. Its reflective surfaces contain seating for visitors and are illuminated with LED technology.

One of the world’s most celebrated architects, Zaha Hadid was the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize, the most prestigious award in architecture. For years, her radical designs remained on the drawing board, but the turning point came in 1993 with the opening of the Vitra Fire Station commissioned by Vitra’s Chairman Rolf Fehlbaum.

Prima by Zaha Hadid at Vitra Campus_3

Painting formed a critical part of Hadid’s early career as the design tool that allowed powerful experimentation in both form and movement – leading to the development of a new language for architecture. Hadid’s interest in the concepts of fragmentation and abstraction is evident throughout her repertoire and continues to this day. Originally engaging with the work of Kazimir Malevich, Hadid translated the warped and anti-gravitational space of Russian avant-garde painting and sculpture into her own unique architectural practice.

Using the advanced design and manufacturing technologies available today, the facets of Prima are a direct translation of the dynamic two-dimensional lines and planes on the canvas, reflecting Hadid’s detailed experimentation to perfect the Fire Station design. The installation continues this research, documenting Hadid’s remarkable journey as an articulator of complexity: a 2D sketch evolves into a workable space, and then into a realised building.

Zaha Hadid commented: “I’m equally proud of all my projects as they each represent different times of my career and periods of research, but I have a particular affection for Vitra Fire Station as it was my first building. Rolf Fehlbaum shares my passion for architecture and was inspired by my early visualizations. He dared to engage me without seeing a prior track record and without the certainty of public success. Returning to Vitra to work with Swarovski on this installation has been a very rewarding experience.”

Prima by Zaha Hadid at Vitra Campus_4

Nadja Swarovski, Member of the Swarovski Executive Board, commented: “Zaha is an astonishing force of nature who imparts her designs with power and grace in equal measure. It has been an honour to work with her once again on this exciting celebratory commission. Prima is a dramatic sculptural installation – half art, half furniture, and stunningly beautiful.”

Rolf Fehlbaum, Chairman of Vitra, said: “I am happy to have worked with Zaha Hadid at such an early stage of her dazzling career. Her Fire Station is a spectacular building and it looks as impressive now as it did when it was first built. Few other architects would have been able to transform a modest commission like ours into a masterpiece of contemporary architecture. Zaha has been able to do so, thanks to an incredible sense of space and a radically new vision of what architecture can represent.”

Prima by Zaha Hadid for Swarovski at Vitra Fire Station on the Vitra Campus, Weil am Rhein, Germany. Prima will be showcased outside the Fire station from 12 June to 11 August 2013. The installation can be viewed as part of the public architectural tours.

The post Prima installation by Zaha Hadid for
Swarovski at Vitra Campus
appeared first on Dezeen.