Zaha Hadid dies at 65

John · Post by **John** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 12:59 pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/arts/ ... v=top-news

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 1:58 pm

"Ms. Hadid mixed Baroque ideas about extravagance and form with Futuristic and Cubist ideas about how to fracture and rearrange those forms." That sounds about right to me. I find her work to be somewhat more convincing, formally, that that of Frank Gehry -- for what that may be worth.

It is only now, almost a century later, that architects are able to pull off the kind of work which interested men like Eric Mendelsohn. It represents one pervasive image of futurism, difficult to distinguish, perhaps, from science-fiction cover art; whether it is useful and meaningful building is an open question, I believe.

SDR

Wrighter · Post by **Wrighter** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 3:20 pm

whether it is useful and meaningful building is an open question, I believe.

I've only visited one of her buildings in person, the Dongdaemun Design Center in Seoul.

From the exterior, the building is mesmerizing. My abiding memory of the interior though, is of too large, too empty, too white hallways. A waste of precious exhibition space. Perhaps she meant these hallways to serve as exhibition spaces themselves. But in its current form, it was if someone had built a two car garage to house a big wheel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongdaemun_Design_Plaza

DRN · Post by **DRN** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 4:09 pm

I will miss seeing new work from her. I didn't always find her work to be an exemplar of function and economy, but I respected the thought present in it, and enjoyed the dynamic and energetic quality it embodied.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 4:31 pm

Yes. Expressionism, would you call it ? Here's an interesting recent appreciation. http://www.tsar-events.com/industry-updates/231/2591/

I looked at some good-sized reproductions of aerial digital renderings, in GA Document magazine a couple of years ago. Not photo-realistic, just very nicely drawn and "painted." Impressive and rich.

SDR

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 5:20 pm

The comparison of Hadid and Gehry is interesting. I agree, she was more convincing. I must admit, I have never warmed to her work, however. Rather than Expressionism, I would call it High Mannerism.

SpringGreen · Post by **SpringGreen** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 5:39 pm

I had the same reaction as Wrighter when I saw the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center: love the form (even more on the inside than the outside), but it felt too cold. Still, to echo DRN, I will miss seeing new work from her.

I think her work will last longer than Gehry's. Gehry had interesting ideas in the beginning but I feel like his work is becoming a caricature.

pharding · Post by **pharding** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 6:39 pm

Zaha was one of the greatest living architects in the world, if not the greatest. I heard her speak this winter at the Art Institute of Chicago and she was inspiring. She leaves a legacy of great, innovative buildings around the world. I dislike hearing her referred to as a great female architect. She is just a great architect. What she accomplished in her relatively short lifetime was amazing. RIP Zaha. The world is a better place because of your innovative ideas and buildings.

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 9:10 pm

Two cents: Hadid more than any other architect working in that "genre" I found to be connected to Wright, simply because her work always struck me, whether or not I liked it, as the continuous flow of a whole, not fragmented and crash bang collaged.

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 9:49 pm

Thanks Paul. I think I am in agreement. A sad day, indeed...

Randolph C. Henning · Post by **Randolph C. Henning** » Fri Apr 01, 2016 7:05 am

I put her work into the "Just Do It" category, along with Frank Gehry and many other current starkitects. Its all surface, no substance - "computer architecture." Because of technology and the computer they basically do just what they feel like doing. When I see work by these technotechs I always ask . . why?! Just because you can doesn't mean you should. My two cents.

pharding · Post by **pharding** » Fri Apr 01, 2016 8:00 am

Having been to three of her buildings, BMW Central Plant in Leipzig, Maxxi Museum in Rome, and the Rosenthal Center in Cincinnati, I was impressed by her ability to create great, innovative buildings, that were poetic with a wonderful blend of appropriateness. What she did was amazing.

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Fri Apr 01, 2016 11:24 am

I have never experienced any of Hadid's work directly, so I am reluctant to express an opinion. But her published work and drawings, like that of Gehry, Calatrava, Rem Koolhaas, Thomas Mayne, Coop Himmelb(l)au and others of the computer clan, seem to be screaming "LOOK AT ME!!" ... and not in a good way.

KevinW · Post by **KevinW** » Fri Apr 01, 2016 11:55 am

Perametricists "shape for shapes sake" does little to get my juices flowing. The technology can be used to create an integral, organic whole. The parametric herd must get past the fascination of form only to become great Architecture...in my humble opinion.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Thu May 12, 2016 6:07 pm

Sounds right to me, Kevin.

If "art" is sought in her architecture, maybe it's a kind of geological organicism ?

Tonight's PBS NewsHour presents interesting evidence: at approx. 0:52 in the hour there's a story about a woman who does spelunking inside of glaciers, finding water-courses and waterfalls, documenting and studying them with an eye to gaining water-knowledge for the future. The images might remind some viewers of Hadid's work.

March Architectural Review has recent award-acceptance paragraphs by Hadid which concisely sum up her architectural aims and where they came from -- more or less. I can't find it online -- but there's this:

http://www.architectural-review.com/ret ... 95.article

SDR