Why are people so obsessed over her work? I feel so underwhelmed with her practice and her boy toy - Schumacher's - parametric dildos. Ugh...
senjohnblutarsky
Feb 4, 16 2:25 pm
I really don't know that people do. It's sort of like Beatles syndrome. I'm not convinced most people actually like the Beatles. It's more that they've been so inundated with them, the music becomes familiar. And, then we assume we like it because it's what we know.
Obviously, there has to be something to keep ones interest. If she were horrible, and we were inundated, it probably wouldn't stick. That said, she's only interesting enough to hang on.
What made her a starchitect? Was it really her work?
null pointer
Feb 4, 16 2:40 pm
because she has more balls than any of you.
BulgarBlogger
Feb 4, 16 2:52 pm
Haha- balls? I don't discredit her initial work... but to produce the same shit over and over and over again with complete disregard for context is ridiculous... it's almost as if Sadaam Hussein's political practices rubbed off on her... she's a dictator... architecturally speaking.
tduds
Feb 4, 16 6:56 pm
That kind of proud disregard takes balls.
Dangermouse
Feb 4, 16 9:11 pm
I like Zaha. She is effective at multiple scales, her work is (generally) rigorous, and she has done a lot of interesting and innovative work with structure and skin. I don't like every ZHA project but you have to respect the prolific quantity of work + aesthetic rigor
architect_hp
Feb 4, 16 9:28 pm
She's different....and her buildings are the examples of that fact....the experience that she creates within the space is quite extraordinary. Personally, I think it's brilliant. Yes, there are shortcomings to her approach here and there but again, nothing is perfect.
awaiting_deletion
Feb 4, 16 9:32 pm
.
SpontaneousCombustion
Feb 4, 16 10:04 pm
What people? Who are these people?
midlander
Feb 4, 16 10:46 pm
I actually enjoy that some of her buildings lead to awkward and strange spaces. They sometimes project an unintentional sense of being handcrafted due to the challenge of properly fitting façade systems and structural elements into strange geometries. Ruskin would approve.
But more on point with her aims, the better projects actually do take in a very broad sense of the context as a space to form her sculpture. Is it everything architecture should be - no. But she does a fascinating job of exploring the effects of spatial contortion in projects where the program doesn't much matter.
awaiting_deletion
Feb 5, 16 6:52 am
spontaneous - why must you ask real questions! surely the census bereau has done a survey on this.
StarchitectAlpha
Feb 5, 16 4:16 pm
Not familiar with her, but with a quick Google search does she do make believe stuff for Sci-fi movies?
chigurh
Feb 5, 16 4:29 pm
She is in the rigorous pursuit of a specific architectural ideal. It seems to be mostly a formal/aesthetic pursuit in her case but she has formed her own language and architectural vocabulary - a notable goal for anybody in the field - and her case must have required a special kind of tenacity given that she was a woman coming up at a time of pure unadulterated misogyny.
Personally I am not a fan of all of her work, but some is exceptional and you have to give it up to her for the reasons stated above.
zonker
Feb 5, 16 4:36 pm
I think her earlier works realized a idealize syntax if you will - there was less disconnect between her paintings and her built works -
I find her 2D work more interesting than her built designs.
I don't want to discount the apparent challenges she would have faced coming up as a woman in this field, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. She comes from money - REAL money - and therefore she was able to, and continues to be able to do basically whatever she wants.
Given basically a blank cheque and her name, I'm sure any of us could make some pretty wild architecture, too.
Zaina
Feb 6, 16 1:40 pm
the real question is: Why architects like yourself doesn't like Zaha Hadid?
chigurh
Feb 6, 16 2:06 pm
coming from money doesn't mean you can pull of that kind of work unless your family is paying for it - I don't think that is the case with her? My point being, there are clients somewhere in the equation that are putting a great deal of trust in her ability to pull off that kind of work which is not easy. There is something to be said about having the luxury of not having to worry about making ends meet, you can be super selective about what projects you take on or not. At some point you have to convince people with a lot of money and vested interest that you can do what you say you can do. Having money will get you in front of the right people but wont give you ability. I know plenty of rich dilettantes.
x-jla
Feb 6, 16 3:48 pm
Zaha is "Hated" for her complete subservience to the power elite, and her complete complacency to the social and economic injustice that surrounds her monstrous architecture. Architecturally, her work is very ambitious, but despite bloated budgets and complex forms, she is incapable of tapping into the sublime that others have with simpler methods and more limited means.
Feb 7, 16 3:43 pm
For the most part, starchitects are poor architects for the average income clients. If you're a starchitect, you basically can't serve regular ordinary people.
chigurh
Feb 7, 16 4:07 pm
yep - the people that go around saying that 99% of all built work is shit are the same people that are building shit that costs 5000 bucks a foot. unfortunately architecture as a profession is a luxury for the rich - all awards programs winners are buildings dripping in cash. It is very rare to see anything of a modest budget win a noteworthy award. Sad.
Agree with jla-x on the last point. True that she is oblivious to the social impacts of her projects - but that is political not really about her design work.
medi
Feb 9, 16 3:21 pm
Zaha Hadid is accomplished and has found many solutions to architectural problems. If you feel you can do better, please do.
kithytom
Feb 9, 16 3:47 pm
architecture problems created by themselves
makingspace
Feb 9, 16 3:54 pm
How many architects in the US have been hired by rich people who made their money in the finance industry to design their homes?
And of those architects hired to do such homes, how many were built by non union labor with subs that had questionable citizenship status?
That's what I thought...
Zaha is a great whipping boy but even mediocre McMansions in the US are as ignorant to global socio economic forces.
Non Sequitur
Feb 9, 16 3:55 pm
Depends on the project, some I like, some I don't. What determines if I like a project or not is not related to Zaha in the least.
awaiting_deletion
Feb 9, 16 3:58 pm
makingspace are you accusing Toll Brothers of hiring illegal immigrants and building low grade architecture? they have this new building in NYC, fake traditional, and a bad fake too, on Lex and 65th I think - Zaha any day over that shit that some rich moron is going to pay for.
makingspace
Feb 9, 16 4:16 pm
Agreed. I love Zaha buildings. Even if she comes from money. Her paintings are amazing. I've only visited one of her buildings but it was a great space with many great moments. I also love how she has been successful at not only designing complex shapes but then getting them built too. The professional experience there probably brings you up to world class caliber on so many levels. Maybe the level interns don't have it so great but mid level. Wow.
How long was it in service as a fire station? It's a fairly unimpressive museum space now.
davvid
Feb 22, 16 11:41 am
"How long was it in service as a fire station?"
Don't know. The building is 23 years old though. Its an interesting history though. It housed a volunteer fire brigade that Vitra founded. 35 employees went through fire-fighting training. This came after/in response to a major fire on the Vitra campus in 81. Eventually Vitra handed over the fire fighting responsibility to a public fire dept. Thats when the building was turned into an exhibition space.
JLC-1
Feb 22, 16 12:05 pm
that is not what the article says davvid.....the building was unfit to house firefighters in the first place.
Why are you so invested with this woman? it's like nothing wrong can come from her....
Miles Jaffe
Feb 22, 16 12:47 pm
^ Starstruck.
davvid
Feb 22, 16 2:54 pm
JLC-1,
The curbed article does not say it was "unfit". What it says is "the building and its unorthodox geometry wasn't an ideal fit for an active station" And how the author even knows that information is unclear. Either way, it seems to contradict Rolf Fehlbaum's take on the building.
“When the building was finally finished, we realised we’d created something significant. The Fire Station gave people a wholly new impression of space”, Rolf Fehlbaum recalls. “At the time, it was probably the most exciting fire station in the world and it worked perfectly.”
After a few years, Vitra decided to hand over the responsibilities of the semi-professional works fire service to the experienced public fire brigade. Consequently, it was no longer necessary to have one on-site. Today, 20 years later, the building is used for exhibitions and events and continues to be one of the highlights on the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein.
Why is it your agenda to diminish Zaha Hadid? What do you get out of that? Does it make you feel better about your own career path?
JLC-1
Feb 22, 16 2:58 pm
I don't worship anyone, don't get confused....
davvid
Feb 22, 16 3:03 pm
JLC-1, Well, it just seems like you stretched a tiny comment at the end of an article on curbed it to this broad judgement on a highly accomplished architect. It seems like there is some kind of personal grievance there.
midlander
Feb 22, 16 6:54 pm
it's not as if vitra thought they were building an ordinary fire station and she tricked them into doing something amazing. RF was a well informed patron and obviously saw the building as a chance to do something which would outlast its temporary utility. Obviously succeeded at that, which was the real program.
Why are people so obsessed over her work? I feel so underwhelmed with her practice and her boy toy - Schumacher's - parametric dildos. Ugh...
I really don't know that people do. It's sort of like Beatles syndrome. I'm not convinced most people actually like the Beatles. It's more that they've been so inundated with them, the music becomes familiar. And, then we assume we like it because it's what we know.
Obviously, there has to be something to keep ones interest. If she were horrible, and we were inundated, it probably wouldn't stick. That said, she's only interesting enough to hang on.
What made her a starchitect? Was it really her work?
because she has more balls than any of you.
Haha- balls? I don't discredit her initial work... but to produce the same shit over and over and over again with complete disregard for context is ridiculous... it's almost as if Sadaam Hussein's political practices rubbed off on her... she's a dictator... architecturally speaking.
That kind of proud disregard takes balls.
I like Zaha. She is effective at multiple scales, her work is (generally) rigorous, and she has done a lot of interesting and innovative work with structure and skin. I don't like every ZHA project but you have to respect the prolific quantity of work + aesthetic rigor
She's different....and her buildings are the examples of that fact....the experience that she creates within the space is quite extraordinary. Personally, I think it's brilliant. Yes, there are shortcomings to her approach here and there but again, nothing is perfect.
.
What people? Who are these people?
I actually enjoy that some of her buildings lead to awkward and strange spaces. They sometimes project an unintentional sense of being handcrafted due to the challenge of properly fitting façade systems and structural elements into strange geometries. Ruskin would approve.
But more on point with her aims, the better projects actually do take in a very broad sense of the context as a space to form her sculpture. Is it everything architecture should be - no. But she does a fascinating job of exploring the effects of spatial contortion in projects where the program doesn't much matter.
spontaneous - why must you ask real questions! surely the census bereau has done a survey on this.
Not familiar with her, but with a quick Google search does she do make believe stuff for Sci-fi movies?
She is in the rigorous pursuit of a specific architectural ideal. It seems to be mostly a formal/aesthetic pursuit in her case but she has formed her own language and architectural vocabulary - a notable goal for anybody in the field - and her case must have required a special kind of tenacity given that she was a woman coming up at a time of pure unadulterated misogyny.
Personally I am not a fan of all of her work, but some is exceptional and you have to give it up to her for the reasons stated above.
I think her earlier works realized a idealize syntax if you will - there was less disconnect between her paintings and her built works -
..
Zaha who?
http://bespokey.org/2016/01/24/new-zaha-hadid-building-to-envelope-southern-hemisphere-in-complete-darkness/
I find her 2D work more interesting than her built designs. I don't want to discount the apparent challenges she would have faced coming up as a woman in this field, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. She comes from money - REAL money - and therefore she was able to, and continues to be able to do basically whatever she wants. Given basically a blank cheque and her name, I'm sure any of us could make some pretty wild architecture, too.
the real question is: Why architects like yourself doesn't like Zaha Hadid?
coming from money doesn't mean you can pull of that kind of work unless your family is paying for it - I don't think that is the case with her? My point being, there are clients somewhere in the equation that are putting a great deal of trust in her ability to pull off that kind of work which is not easy. There is something to be said about having the luxury of not having to worry about making ends meet, you can be super selective about what projects you take on or not. At some point you have to convince people with a lot of money and vested interest that you can do what you say you can do. Having money will get you in front of the right people but wont give you ability. I know plenty of rich dilettantes.
Zaha is "Hated" for her complete subservience to the power elite, and her complete complacency to the social and economic injustice that surrounds her monstrous architecture. Architecturally, her work is very ambitious, but despite bloated budgets and complex forms, she is incapable of tapping into the sublime that others have with simpler methods and more limited means.
For the most part, starchitects are poor architects for the average income clients. If you're a starchitect, you basically can't serve regular ordinary people.
yep - the people that go around saying that 99% of all built work is shit are the same people that are building shit that costs 5000 bucks a foot. unfortunately architecture as a profession is a luxury for the rich - all awards programs winners are buildings dripping in cash. It is very rare to see anything of a modest budget win a noteworthy award. Sad.
Agree with jla-x on the last point. True that she is oblivious to the social impacts of her projects - but that is political not really about her design work.
Zaha Hadid is accomplished and has found many solutions to architectural problems. If you feel you can do better, please do.
architecture problems created by themselves
How many architects in the US have been hired by rich people who made their money in the finance industry to design their homes?
And of those architects hired to do such homes, how many were built by non union labor with subs that had questionable citizenship status?
That's what I thought...
Zaha is a great whipping boy but even mediocre McMansions in the US are as ignorant to global socio economic forces.
Depends on the project, some I like, some I don't. What determines if I like a project or not is not related to Zaha in the least.
makingspace are you accusing Toll Brothers of hiring illegal immigrants and building low grade architecture? they have this new building in NYC, fake traditional, and a bad fake too, on Lex and 65th I think - Zaha any day over that shit that some rich moron is going to pay for.
Agreed. I love Zaha buildings. Even if she comes from money. Her paintings are amazing. I've only visited one of her buildings but it was a great space with many great moments. I also love how she has been successful at not only designing complex shapes but then getting them built too. The professional experience there probably brings you up to world class caliber on so many levels. Maybe the level interns don't have it so great but mid level. Wow.
How to become a famous architect without building anything
Epic.
^ Bingo.
after visiting D'Leedon, I have the same question. The materials had poor terminations, badly built.
Zaha would be the first to tell you it's not her fault.
What is so hard to understand? She creates very dramatic, evocative buildings that are technically challenging. And she actually gets them built!
http://www.curbed.com/2015/8/5/9933580/21-first-drafts-zaha-hadids-vitra-fire-station
Ah yes... the Vitra fire station.
How long was it in service as a fire station? It's a fairly unimpressive museum space now.
"How long was it in service as a fire station?"
Don't know. The building is 23 years old though. Its an interesting history though. It housed a volunteer fire brigade that Vitra founded. 35 employees went through fire-fighting training. This came after/in response to a major fire on the Vitra campus in 81. Eventually Vitra handed over the fire fighting responsibility to a public fire dept. Thats when the building was turned into an exhibition space.
that is not what the article says davvid.....the building was unfit to house firefighters in the first place.
Why are you so invested with this woman? it's like nothing wrong can come from her....
^ Starstruck.
JLC-1,
The curbed article does not say it was "unfit". What it says is "the building and its unorthodox geometry wasn't an ideal fit for an active station" And how the author even knows that information is unclear. Either way, it seems to contradict Rolf Fehlbaum's take on the building.
See this article from Vitra's own website: https://www.vitra.com/en-us/magazine/details/184799
“When the building was finally finished, we realised we’d created something significant. The Fire Station gave people a wholly new impression of space”, Rolf Fehlbaum recalls. “At the time, it was probably the most exciting fire station in the world and it worked perfectly.”
After a few years, Vitra decided to hand over the responsibilities of the semi-professional works fire service to the experienced public fire brigade. Consequently, it was no longer necessary to have one on-site. Today, 20 years later, the building is used for exhibitions and events and continues to be one of the highlights on the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein.
Why is it your agenda to diminish Zaha Hadid? What do you get out of that? Does it make you feel better about your own career path?
I don't worship anyone, don't get confused....
JLC-1, Well, it just seems like you stretched a tiny comment at the end of an article on curbed it to this broad judgement on a highly accomplished architect. It seems like there is some kind of personal grievance there.
it's not as if vitra thought they were building an ordinary fire station and she tricked them into doing something amazing. RF was a well informed patron and obviously saw the building as a chance to do something which would outlast its temporary utility. Obviously succeeded at that, which was the real program.