Zaha Hadid. London Olympic Aquatic Centre.


 
Original project rendering without side stands

Project with side stands

Construction site on november 2009




:   :  : ::: THE FACT
  • described as ‘the most complicated engineering challenge’ anywhere on the London 2012 Olympic Park.
  • the steel roof frame weighs more than 3000 tonnes and stands on only three supports.
  • two temporary stands were added to the original project
:   :  : ::: THE QUOTE
 “The architectural concept of the Aquatic Centre is inspired by the fluid geometry of water in motion, creating spaces and a surrounding environment in sympathy with the river landscape."
Zaha Hadid

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Zaha Hadid. MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts







: : : ::: THE FACT
  • Visitors are invited to dive into a dense, continuous space
  • The project is characterised by two primary architectural elements: the exposed concrete walls that delimit the exhibition halls and determine the intertwining of volumes, and the transparent roof that modulates and filters natural light.
  • The Contemporary Art and Architecture Centre for Rome is the first national museum for contemporary art in Italy.
: : : ::: THE QUOTE
"An interesting thing about the museum in Rome is that it is no longer an object, but rather a field, which implies that many programs could be attached to the museum. It’s no longer a museum, but a centre."

: : : ::: THE CRITIC
"The completion of the museum is proof that this city is no longer allergic to the new and a rebuke to those who still see Rome as a catalog of architectural relics for scholars or tourists. It affirms the view that cities thrive when each generation attempts to rise to the challenges of the past while remaining true to contemporary values. That means that yes, we too — the living — have something to contribute."



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Studio Gang Architects. Aqua Tower




:   :  : ::: THE FACT
  • It is the tallest building designed by a woman-owned architectural firm and the first skyscraper from Chicago’s Jeanne Gang, of Studio Gang Architects, who is just 45 years old.
  • It’s already won an award from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals because birds will be able to see its curving balconies and therefore will be less likely to fly into the tower.
  • Its powerful form suggests the limestone outcroppings and geologic forces that shaped the great lakes region.
:   :  : ::: THE QUOTE
Concrete is always treated like it’s a solid stone material, but it’s really this fluid.

 :   :  : ::: THE CRITIC
At Aqua, the old base-middle-top formula is out. The top is conspicuously flat. It is the middle, with its playful bulges, that is the star.

And using the curves to dissipate the wind gave Gang a bonus: she was able to put balconies on every floor, all the way up. Usually, condominiums sixty or seventy floors above the street don’t have balconies, because it’s just too windy up there to go outside.

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Diller Scofidio + Renfro and FXFowle Architects. Alice Tully Hall








:   :  : ::: THE FACT
  • The jury particularly appreciated that the design team rethought an existing building and its environs, proving the needlessness of tearing the place down and starting fresh
  • designed to integrate the site with the surrounding cityscape

:   :  : ::: THE QUOTE
"This is a reuse of a building and a transformation of an urban space,"  Jeanne Gang

 :   :  : ::: THE CRITIC
"...artfully sidestepping the tiresome old dichotomy between preservation and the wrecking ball. It’s a subtle knock at those who define good and bad in terms of a period or style rather than through a direct emotional engagement with an individual work. Think something is ugly? Look closer. There may be moments of unexpected beauty inside." 

"(the architects) They manage to be bold and subtle at the same time, making a dull building exciting without warping its identity completely."
"The greatest design failing of Lincoln Center was its separation from the rest of the city, and the redo of Sixty-fifth Street will go a long way toward healing that breach."
:   :  : ::: THE LINKS


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Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Museum of Image and Sound


:   :  : ::: THE FACT
  • the building takes inspiration from the neighbourhood’s stylized sidewalks designed by Roberto Burle Marx.
  •  The “Vertical Boulevard” gently traverses indoor and outdoor spaces.

:   :  : ::: THE QUOTE
. “I always wanted to see another function” 
Governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro in announcing that the museum will occupy the site of a former infamous nightclub that became an area of prostitution and drug trafficking.


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Zaha Hadid. Vitra Fire Station





:   :  : ::: THE FACT
Constructed as a working firehouse within the Vitra furniture design and manufacturing complex (buildings by renowned architects such as Ando, Ghery, Herzog & de Meuron, Grimshaw) after a fire some years earlier proved the need for such a structure

:   :  : ::: THE CRITIC
"Sharp edges on its overhanging canopy suggest the urgency of its purpose"
By Philip Kennicott. Washington Post

 :   :  : ::: THE QUOTE
"The Fire Station is a sculpture of cast in-situ concrete that contrasts with the orthogonal order of the adjacent factory buildings like the frozen image of an explosion in a photograph"

:   :  : ::: THE LINKS



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