very few architects in the world don't actually require an introduction zaha hadid is one of them
the queen of Curves as she was called zaha was one of the most influential Architects when she
was alive now I have already made a two-part series on zaha discussing her life and her
designs in this video I want to dive deeper and look at some of the projects that have led her
to be admired and also hated by some all over the world welcome to blessedarch and today on
this channel we are looking at eight projects that have defined the career of zaha hadid
At number 8 we have the Guangzhou Opera House in China
this was our very her first project in China that she got the commission for after winning
a competition the Guangzhou opera house is located in a new business district of the
city with a new 103 story Glass Tower behind it it covers 70 000 square meters and was built
at a cost of 300 million dollars since this was her first building in China it did open
the doors to many new projects within China and Asian countries allowing her to get commissions
where she could showcase her skills so that is why I believe this building is important
and a defining one of her career at number 7 we have the phaeno Science Center in Germany
in 2000 zaha won an international competition to build this Center this museum with 9
000 square meters of space has an ambitious plan the concept of this building is similar
to the ones designed by le corbusier it is raised up on 7 meter high concrete pylons
although unlike our corbusier's building zaha planned for the space under the building to
be filled with activity and each of the 10 massive inverted cone-shaped columns that
hold up the building contains a cafe a shop or a museum entrance the project definitely
pushes the boundary of structures and is not only a great work of art but a sophisticated
Marvel of engineering she won the RIBA European award for this structure and I think it really
deserves a place in this list at number 6 we have the Riverside Museum in Scotland
it houses the glassgow Museum of Transport zaha described this 10
000 square meter building as a wave a fold in movement and a shed in the form of a
tunnel open at extreme ends like many of our buildings the whole form is only perceived
when viewed from above the facades are covered with zinc plates and the roof
line has a series of Peaks and angles this is one of the more famous works of zaha one
that is quite instantly recognizable as being done in her style so naturally it deserves a
position on this list at number 5 we have the Lois and Richard Center in Cincinnati
now this project from certain angles might not look very zaha but once you step in you enter one
of the most dynamic museums ever built zaha won this project in a competition beating Architects
like Daniel libesking and Bernard Tschumi she proposed organizing the museum into a number
of independent Gallery volumes all suspended from a warped concrete plane these functional elements
would inform not only the masking of this new Museum but its external appearance as well
this was a first project in the United States and this was completed in 2003 and she became
the first woman to win a pritzker prize in 2004. there might not be a direct correlation but this
project definitely helped her make the cut making this in my opinion one of her defining projects
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for a month so do check it out and now let's get back to our video at number four we have
the Issam fares Institute which is located in the campus of American University of Beirut
Again this design is beautifully zaha with its Dynamic and iconic facade and beautifully crafted
movement spaces and communal spaces it has a 21 meter cantilever in order to preserve the existing
landscape but one of the Prime reasons I wanted to include this project here was because it got
zaha the Aga Khan award although sadly it was given to her the same year that she passed away
but nevertheless it is a brilliant project one that was very important in her career and that
is why I think this is one of oher defining projects and finally we are down to our top
three defining projects at number three we have the vitra fire station in Germany this project
absolutely has to be on this list because this was the first project built by zaha hadid for
10 years after starting her firm Zaha had designed many buildings but had never built one in 1982 the
original vitra Factory burned down in a fire so they asked zaha to design a new fire station she
took up the project and the final building went on to be one of the most beautiful structures
she ever built she was able to translate her Fantastical Vision that she painted into an
elegant building and just like in her paintings this building also carried a powerful sensation
of movement with strong edges and oblique walls this project moved zaha from being a strong
avant-garde conceptual artist to a formidable architect and that is why I think this project
has literally defined her career at number two we probably have one of the famous buildings by
Zara Hadith and one that is adored by millions I am of course talking about the Maxi Museum
this project in Rome which took 10 years to finish from design to execution is movement Frozen
in time everything in the structure seems to be moving and flowing this project is also important
because it got her her first Sterling prize which is UK's most prestigious architectural award
of course the building got a lot more Awards later including the RIBA European
award this building is pretty much her style materialized and it has to be on
this list and finally we have come to our last and the top of this list and
of course that will be the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku Azerbaijan
if you search zaha on Google this building will probably be one of the first things that you will
see made of a fluid form this building was designed folding in the landscape's
natural topography and by wrapping of individual functions of the center everything every single
function inside is represented by the folds in a single continuous surface this is one
of the most iconic buildings by zaha Hadid and one that granted her the title of the queen of
the curves so honestly not putting this project on the list or not putting it at the top would
just probably be a crime and that was it you guys those in my opinion were the projects that defined
the career of zaha hadid but I want to know your thoughts what did you think about these
projects would you exclude or include any other project of zaha in this list let me know in the
comments below if you have any other comments or questions about this video you can put that
down in the comments as well I hope you enjoyed the content and if you would like to support me
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