Architecture is viewed as the art of science that involves coming up with design in the form of a drawing, managing, and constructing structures such as building complexes, swimming pools, parks, and other various structures in a particular proportion and shape. It is in this regard that since time immemorial architecture has grown from simple ideas to the amazing and intriguing structures that exist in our lives today. One of the magnificent works of architecture has been the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai, UAE; that is the highest sky scraper to date. The enormous growth of the architectural world has been highly attributed to technology, which has enabled one of the best brains in the field of architecture to make their imaginations a reality.
In the past decade, there has been a turbulent trend in the demand for great architectural works all over the world. It is in this regard that the demand for knowledge in the field of architecture has grown so large to bring about the best institutions in architectural studies in the world, such as; the Architectural Association School that is based in London. Architecture is a field that is dominated by males, and there are very few females in the architectural career, but one woman has broken the dominance and is celebrated as one of the best architects in the world. Zaha Hadid is one of the most celebrated architects in the world to date, she has done great works that leaves every human being who has an interest in the art and architectural world amazed. Born from a wealthy family in Baghdad in the year 1950, Zaha went to study mathematics at the American University of Beirut, where she graduated and furthered her studies at the Architectural Association School in London, UK.
Feminism
Zaha Hadid began her career in the Office of Metropolitan Architecture in London, where she grew her career and became a renowned London- based architect who majored in broad fields of design ranging from micro – space designs that involves furniture, interior design, and other products to urban scale design the involved buildings and other infrastructural structures. She also involved herself in architectural works of researching, teaching, and the general field of practicing architecture. Hadid’s projects have a charismatic touch that is integrated in dynamic qualities that are pitched around sinuously, curving shapes, with a well crystalized strata. Zara’s projects started gaining fame in the md 1980s, which broke the norm dreadlock that was existing since the early 20th Century that were famous with avant- garde architects and artists. In the world today, Zaha Hadid’s works of architecture have created a landmark for functional programs among the upcoming architects. Zara has created a historical and conceptual awareness that creates inspiration and brings about a candid stepping point for both the existing set- pacers in the industry and also for the students that have passion in the architectural world.
Zaha Hadid has had a very strong stand against feminism describing it as a setback in the society that discriminates the female species in the world. In her recent interview with Tina Brown from The Daily Beast, has expressed her opinion that being a female in a male dominated field is very difficult as during her years of starting to practice architecture she encountered biasness as a result of her gender. She describes the feminism discrimination in her field of work as being a challenge that she had to face and overcome over the years. In her works, Zaha Hadid has designed architectural landmarks that touch on almost all of the functional programs in the world of architecture, where she has brought together the assertiveness that has covered an anticipated niche in the construction industry which are never mundane or bland but have a stellar rating in the eyes of the population. Her efforts have developed over one thousand projects around the globe that range from micro- space designs to urban design projects that inspire the existing and the up and coming generation of professional architects. What makes Zaha Hadid’s work great is her embracement of technology that brings together nature’s shapes and forms as well as making a reality impossible structures that can only exist in moments of reflection. In her works, she has made possible the existence of parametric designs that have a meticulous finishing and seamless flow of matter and energy in the general conception of the construction field. Zaha Hadid’s work does not go unrecognized, as she has earned the 2004 Pritzker Prize as well as winning the 2010 and 2011 Stirling Prize.
According to Aref (2011), Zaha Hadid’s work as an Arab woman has created a broad combination of both old and new thoughts that bring about the Iraq culture as well as the European culture that she has adopted in her life. Aref (2011), has viewed her works as that which incorporates the thoughts of deconstructivism and suprematism in her numerous projects that have been completed or are underway all over the world. She has approximately ten projects in the Arabian countries in which she comes from. Reid (2009) in her book dubbed Zaha Hadid: The Female Modernist of the Twenty-First Century, has viewed Zaha Hadid has having a candid role in the current growth and technological modernization of the architectural work, in which she has inspired a lot of the new generation of architects. She describes Hadid as not been driven by popularity rather by the passion of making the architectural field a sustainable and inspiring field that is characterized by an ever expanding connection, sociality, and the creation of a new kind of landscape. A perfect example of her exemplary work of combining all the aforementioned traits is the Heydar Aliyev Center project.
Deconstructivism
Deconstructivism is one of the greatest virtues of Zaha Hadid, as viewed in her great works of urban designs all around the globe. She is viewed as one of the pioneers of deconstructivism that is brought about by the paradigm shift in architectural designs from traditionalism to modernity highly influenced by the magnanimous growth in technology of the science behind architecture. According to Hattenstone (2010), Hadid’s work was inspired by technological growth that incepted the ideas of a person’s mind and made it a reality. It is in this inspiration that today’s architectural displays in the real world are described as being “out of this world.” The deconstructivism has emerged in the recent years as in the mid- 1990s, there was uncertainty and chaos in most of the architectural works that emerged from architects such as Frank Gehry, Coop Himmelblau, and Peter Eisenman whose works were thoroughly analyzed in the book by Bart Van known as; The Uncanny and the Architecture of Deconstruction. According to Mertins (2006), deconstruction is viewed to have been in existence since the early years of 1917, when the First World War was taking course. It was viewed in the works of Vladimir Tatlin, who was a Russian artist behind a new painting that was later referred to as constructivism that brought about an abstract look and was unique in its own way.
Mertins (2006), also described the art and science of architecture having emerged from the Soviet Union now known as Russia during the era of the Tsarist autocracy. It is during these uncertainties and unrests that there emerged a strong desire to rebuilding a befallen Russia, where new buildings and infrastructure had to be set up to create an enabling environment for growth and development. It is during the period of resettling and rebuilding of the nation that the constructivist architects came to light and devised new and improved building types that instigated growth and development in the architectural field. The aim of deconstructivism was to destroy the traditional point of view in the architectural world as well as to bring new styles and technology that is based on a conception driven around fragmentation, deconstruction, and extermination (Mertins 26).
A French philosopher known as Jacques Derrida laid out his great philosophy of deconstruction, in the beginning of 1970s. In his philosophy he came to light with a suggestion that the enigmatic nature that surrounds deconstructivism is a very difficult and daunting task. Wigley (1996), had it in writing that deconstructivism was initiated as a new philosophy in the arts and architecture industry, where he redundantly elaborated that Jacques Derrida’s book titled; The Architecture of Deconstruction: Derrida's Haunt contained a philosophical vision that could be perceived as a trait of hallucination (Wigley 266). Wigley (1996) explained that the theory surrounding deconstruction is infinitive in nature and that the variance in meanings is only justified in the perceptions and thoughts of people. In his own words, Mark Wigley (1996), defined deconstruction as “ongoing structural event, a continuous displacement of structure that cannot be evaluated in traditional terms because it is the very frustration of those terms (Wigley 268).”
Political and Economic Influence of Zaha Hadid’s work
Despite her numerous achievements and success, Zaha Hadid’s work has also sparked a lot of criticism. The most criticized project is the construction of the Qatar Stadium to be used in 2022 World Cup, the working conditions of workers were very poor and highly neglected in the sense that she sparked political criticism. She came out to acknowledge the fact that there was a lot of problems related to working conditions where migrants have died during the course of duty. For this reason, she came out with a language of her own. This was mainly reliant on coming up with fantastic curves as a way of expressing her thoughts and feelings towards the criticism that the migrants went through ("Architecture Experts Reflect on the Visionary Work of Zaha Hadid").
According to Hadid (2011), she cumulatively describes her work as “operating with concepts, logic and methods that examine and organize the complexities of contemporary life patterns.” According to Frearson (2012), Hadid’s work is unique and emerges as very professional and well thought, in the sense that she takes her time to even study the culture and ambition of the area and the community surrounding it before she sets up an architectural design that is scheduled to be implemented. Hadid owes the success of her numerous projects to the vigorous research she undertakes in any given project. This is evident when her company won the competition to design the Japan National Stadium, in her words, she said that; “Our three decades of research into Japanese architecture and urbanism is evident in our winning design.”
Zaha Hadid influenced a lot of economies positively in her designs and overseeing of projects that would become a land mark in the world. Her most renowned innovation was the Hong Kong Innovation Tower that exceeded the set limit by the Planning Department in Hong Kong. She persistently fought for the project to be initiated and completed. It is in her determination that Hong Kong houses a landmark that has influenced its economy positively. Zaha Hadid’s Vienna’s project was a turning point that brought affordable living to the population, and accomplished her mission of making a positive impact not only to the high class society, but also to the less fortunate. Cairo city is another example of Zaha Hadid’s great work that has spanned the economic growth in Egypt. It has led to increase in investments from both locals and foreign investors. Below are pictures describing Zaha Hadid’s pleasant work that has influenced economic growth.
Postmodernism
Postmodernism in architecture has been influenced greatly by technology, where architects such as Zaha Hadid have moved from the traditional norm of just putting up a design, to the modern way of transforming an imagination to a design and ultimately to a structure. In order to have a broader picture on the postmodernism role that Zaha Hadid played. We will put into consideration her various projects that are very famous all over the world.
Postmodernism is viewed without dispute in this architectural building designed by Zaha Hadid, as she brings the aspect of ‘creative industries’ to play with this magnificent structure that every city in the world would crave to have. Some of the projects the Zaha Hadid has implemented successfully include; The Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Serpentine Sackler Gallery, and Port House.
According to Designboom (2007), Zaha Hadid’s strategy is a rather continuous procedure that takes a new course in all projects she undertakes, this is to say that all her projects have a unique touch and a trait that is different from her previous one. This is brought about by the extensive research she undertakes before per taking in her design projects, in spite of being an urban design or an interior design. Zara Hadid’s design strategies can be broken into six distinctive processes which are; form notion, personal investigation, embedding form in a particular context, interior design, techniques of design, and the natural lighting and circulation movement. Hadid’s perception of architecture on the basis of the six steps above, is as an art of science that can be put into act in a bid to meet people’s dire needs and the requirements that may revolve around the building’s functions.
The function of architecture from Zaha Hadid’s point of view is the providence of a habitat that formulates excitement, calmness, and provides its users with a space to meditate and think. This is unlike the basic man’s thought of architecture being just a means to provide shelter for people. Hattenstone (2010), argues that architecture should provide a need to feed the soul of the era of today’s world, and bring an impact to the world in a way that new things are brought up in all sectors and stimulates inspiration among the upcoming generation and the entire population at large. In the world of today most people if not all are technologically driven, in a way that they want to see new things and experience them in a way that it motivates and at the same time challenge them in chasing their dreams. In D’ Apuzzo (2011) words, architecture should bring a shining light in its promotion of postmodernism, where it emulates Hadid’s work and words that are; “ I believe that inventive architecture can affect the quality of human life.”
Criticism
Despite Zaha Hadid’s great influence in the architectural world, she has come out with a lot of criticism from different places, where she is criticized as being an “architect that sacrifices costs and practicality in projects to achieve her design vision. “She has heavily being criticized to be too extravagant. One of her highly criticized project was the Aquatic Centre that she designed and oversaw. She is criticized as having not made great estimations on the size and the materials used, as it is said to have used approximately 10 times more steel than the velodrome. It is also said that there were thousands of seats added to cater for the guests at the arena, despite numerous complains of sightlines as the officials settlement area cut off views of the upper tiers and the top of the diving board. The front door was also found to be obscure as visitors had to use other doors to gain entrance.
Another criticism of Zaha Hadid’s work was on the Riverside Museum of Transport in Glasgow which was deemed to be very expensive alongside the Maxxi Art Gallery as they are very expensive for people who need to display their arts there. This has befallen a budgetary criticism and class target as also the design of the Gallery makes it difficult for arrangement of arts and other accessories necessary. The criticism has come out strong to raise doubts on certain projects that she has completed over the time worldwide. It has risen a lot of negative criticism that tend to rise eyebrows over several projects that she has completed or are underway. The Qua
Conclusion
Zaha Hadid’s way of incepting and conceiving architecture should be a great inspiration in the architectural world, and serve as a stepping stone to the creation of a new kind of work that meet the requirements that are expected in the architectural career. This is so because it will motivate the next generation of architects to move a notch higher than the likes of Zaha Hadid and not only create new and inspiring designs, but also bring about new equipment in the field of architecture as well as instigate a faster development and upgrade of numerous sciences applied in the field of architecture. Zaha Hadid should also be an inspiration to females, especially the young girls that are looking for a stunning career to not fear, and gather their courage to venture in the field of architecture and other technical fields that have been perceived to belong to men, or are male dominated with a goal to make it in life and become the best in the field despite the gender disparity.
Works Cited
"Architecture Experts Reflect On The Visionary Work Of Zaha Hadid". ThinkProgress. N.p., 2016. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
Aref, Mohammad. "Zaha Hadid, Genius Of The Place*". Contemporary Arab Affairs 4.3 (2011): 267-287. Web.
D' Apuzzo, Massimo Adam. "Interview With Zaha Hadid - Društvo Arhitekata Novog Sada - Dans". Dans.org.rs. N.p., 2011. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
Designboom. Designboom Interview: Zaha Hadid. Designboom Magazine. Designboom, N.p., 2007. Web.4 April 2016.
Frearson, Amy. "Zaha Hadid To Design Japan National Stadium". Dezeen. N.p., 2012. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
Hadid, Zaha. Like a breath of fresh air. China Daily USA Newspaper. China Daily. N.p., 2011.Web.4 April 2016.
Hattenstone, Simon. "Zaha Hadid: 'I'm Happy To Be On The Outside'". the Guardian. N.p., 2012. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
—. "Zaha Hadid: 'I'm Happy To Be On The Outside'". the Guardian. N.p., 2010. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
Mertins, Detlef. "The Modernity of Zaha Hadid." Departmental Papers (Architecture) (2006): 8.
Reid, Leslie Elaine. Zaha Hadid: The female modernist of the twenty-first century. SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY, 2009.
Wigley, Mark. "The architecture of deconstruction: Derrida's haunt." Journal of Architectural Education 49.4 (1996): 266-268.
Appendix
Diagrams of Zaha Hadid’s Projects
February 12, 2014 /
Heydar Aliyev Center
Zaha Hadid Architects
Baku, Azerbaijan
http://www.arcspace.com/features/zaha-hadid-architects/
In Baku, a city in Azerbaijan, lies a very intriguing structure shaped in form of a waves in the ocean, known as the Heydar Aliyev Center. It incorporates a design that is well researched, analyzed, and implemented by the famous female architect, Zaha Hadid. This is an example of the work she has done in her native Arabic area that is not far from her birth country.
September 08, 2014 /
Vienna University of Economics Library and Learning Centre
Zaha Hadid Architects
Vienna, Austria
http://www.arcspace.com/features/zaha-hadid-architects/
This is one of Zara Hadid’s work, where she brings the dynamic fluidity and movement in the design, with several bundles of curves that are flowing around each and every corner of the building. It resembles a streamlined car as opposed to what may be perceived as an old building, bringing one to the conclusion that she is one of the world’s leading architects let alone a female architect.
September 28, 2009 /
Cairo Expo City
Zaha Hadid Architects
Cairo, Egypt
http://www.arcspace.com/features/zaha-hadid-architects/
Located at the heart of Cairo, the capital city of Egypt, Cairo Expo City was uniquely designed by Zara Hadid in the form that would bring about a city within a city, incorporating commercial buildings, sky scrapers and hotels. It is just a state of the art exhibition city that brings a unique touch in the capital of Cairo.
April 23, 2014 /
Dongdaemun Design Plaza
Zaha Hadid Architects
Seoul, South Korea
http://www.arcspace.com/features/zaha-hadid-architects/
This is the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, South Korea that cost in the tune of 450 million dollars.
September 26, 2013 /
Serpentine Sackler Gallery
Zaha Hadid Architects
London, United Kingdom
http://www.arcspace.com/features/zaha-hadid-architects/
The Serpentine Sackler Gallery is another of Zaha Hadid’s design that has brought transformed what used to be a former gun store to a public pavilion that has a curvy splendor with a finesse distinction that leads to a well lushness of an attractive garden.
February 02, 2009 /
Port House
Zaha Hadid Architects
Antwerp, Belgium
http://www.arcspace.com/features/zaha-hadid-architects/
The Port House is a uniquely designed structure that tends to defy the law of gravity in its structural design and physical appearance. Located in the heart of Belgium’s capital of Antwerp, Port House was uniquely designed by Zaha Hadid to bring out a crystalline volume that is displayed at the tip of the enormous building.
