Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion

Iraqi-born British architect, Zaha Hadid, is the first female recipient of the renowned Pritzker Architecture Prize.  She has advanced contemporary architecture and design through her exploration of fluid geometries and the use of her own representational technique of drawing and painting to depict building elevation plans and design. 

Influenced by the Russian avant-garde movement of the twenties, influenced by Kazimir Malevich, Hadid infuses the idea of motion and energy into her designs to “smoothly harness form to natural processes.” 

I actually find it interesting to view Zaha Hadid’s work side by side, column by column – as each image displays her unique style of flowing curves and the compilation becoming an entirely new visual art set.

The images appear to have come from the mind of an artist projecting a world in the future.  But the radically innovative building designs are tangible and functional today.

I recently visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see Zaha Hadid’s exhibition, Form in Motion.  A room in the Perelman Building had been incredibly transformed from blank slate to functional space with perspective flow.  Walking into the room, I was immersed into her style of movement with curving sofas, tables, chandeliers, jewelry, and even shoes.

Here are some of my favorite pieces from the Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion exhibit...

Z-Play Seating Elements | 2002

Made by Sawaya & Moroni

Cold-foamed polyurethane, wool upholstery; W (each piece) 28 3/8” (72 cm)

These abstract, irregularly shaped seats are additions to the original Z-Scape furniture program of eleven pieces designed by Hadid for Sawaya & Moroni in 2000, when her designs were realized in exact detail with new digital design and manufacturing technologies.  Having researched and found inspiration in the “morphology” of geological forms and stratifications, Hadid was able to transfer original drawings directly from the three-dimensional computer models into the CNC milling machine where the polyurethane foam seats were cut and shaped.  Conceived as fragments of dynamic landscape formation, the seats offer multiple possibilities for use and configuration.

Vortexx Chandelier | 2005

Made by Zumtobel Lighting GmbH in collaboration with Sawaya & Moroni

Fiberglass, car paint, acrylic, LED; H 60” (152.4 cm)

Whirling around a vertical axis, as its name aptly describes, Hadid’s Vortexx chandelier, made by Zumtobel and produced in collaboration with Sawaya & Moroni, was awarded a prize in the Lights of the Future design competition established by the European Commission to promote energy-efficient residential lighting.  Concealed within two spiraling translucent acrylic diffusers cased in fiberglass, colored LED modules are combined with white LEDs that emit light only on the underside.  Lower in energy consumption, cooler, smaller, and more durable than incandescent lights, the color-changing LEDs realize Hadid’s vision of seamless continuity.  The color of the chandelier changes continuously and almost imperceptibly, flowing though the helical tubes in what appears to be perpetual motion.  Vortexx is fitted with a programmable management system that allows the user to control the intensity and color of the light.

Crater Table | 2007

Designed for David Gill Galleries

Aluminum with polished finish, L 104 ¾” (266 cm)

Its sleek surface deformed with the volcano-like projections and bowl-shaped depressions that give the piece its name, Crater table has no precedent in the history of furniture.  Two of the crater rims overhang the table’s edge and extend toward the floor, providing the piece with support and balance.  Varied in appearance, the craters reflect Hadid’s interest in geomorphology and the tectonic forces that shape landforms into circular basins or conical summits, as well as her early and ongoing adoption of Russian Suprematist and Constructivist ideas, among them Kazimir Malevich’s principle that motion is central to the treatment of form.  Its curving supports hidden underneath, the tabletop appears to be suspended in space.

Moon System Sofa and Ottoman I 2007

Made by B&B Italia

Steel, cold-pressed polyurethane foam, nylon/polyurethane/spandex upholstery

L (sofa) 113 3/8” (288 cm), L (ottoman) 59 7/16” (151 cm)

B&B Italia was challenged by Hadid’s complex, curvilinear geometries, which give the Moon System sofa and ottoman their unusual boomerang shape and thin profile.  Circumscribed by a single, continuous dynamic line, the Moon System sofa required B&B Italia to use a CNC milling machine, which shaped and cut the polyurethane foam as a single block continuing the sofa’s back, seat, and armrests according to the exact specifications of Hadid’s three-dimensional computer model.  This direct-to-production manufacturing technique allowed Hadid’s original design concept – an assemblage of parts conceived as a singular production unit – to be fabricated with precision and economy of resource.

Glace Collection Jewelry | 2009

Made by Swarovski AG

Colored resin, Swarovski crystals in jet and crystal; L (cuff 1) 4 1/8” (10.5 cm), L (cuff 2) 4 5/16” (11 cm)

Devoid of clasps and closures, the Glace bracelets form asymmetrical, continuous loops that can be interlocked by means of embedded magnets.  They are designed by three-dimensional computer-generated modeling wherein digitized ribbons are combined and manipulated into directional flows through advanced mathematical calculation.  Swarovski then uses the computer model file to produce detailed molds into which the resin is poured; as the poured resin gradually hardens, crystals and stones are selectively suspended in it.

Celeste Necklace | 2008

Made by Swarovski AG

Made with Swarovski gemstones in topaz white, smoky quartz, and black spinel; blackened silver; L 16 15/16” (43 cm)

The silver Celeste necklace is similarly designed and cast according to curvilinear geometries that follow the form of the individual wearing it; the necklace rises from the wearer’s torso, wraps around her neck, and comes to rest on her shoulder.  Its accompanying cuff extends along the length of the forearm, continuing the formal movement of the composition.

Crevasse Vases | 2005

Stainless steel, PVD coating; H 16 9/16” (42 cm)

Silver: Philadelphia Museum of Art. Gift of Lisa S. Roberts, 2008-58-3 (left)

Crevasse is a direct offspring of Hadid’s City of Towers design representing visionary study models of skyscrapers for ground zero.  Conceived as twinned towers, the Crevasse vases are cut like the fissure the name suggests from a single block of stainless steel and scored along two diagonal lines at differing angles, creating a warped, inverted surface that appears to twist away from and merge with its twin at various points along the vertical axis.

This Zaha Hadid exhibition provided not only an opportunity for me to appreciate her innovative design objects, but to also immerse myself in an all-encompassing environment that reflects her exploration of architectural fluidity and form.

Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion will be at the Philadelphia Museum of Art until March 25, 2012. 

Begrudgingly,

BB