Now that the cat is out of the bag and the Japanese government has officially announced Kengo Kuma's stadium proposal as the new winning design for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, all eyes are on Zaha Hadid Architects, design firm of the voluptuous initial winning stadium spaceship which was ultimately pulled back to earth in mid-takeoff by the immense gravity of an outraged public reaction.
Dame Hadid, fighting for a second chance for her redesigned submission until the very last minute, reacted swiftly and issued an expectedly disappointed statement on her website this morning:
“We were honoured to be selected to design a stadium that would enable Japan to welcome the world for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and bring the 2020 Olympic Games to Tokyo, before becoming a new home for Japanese sport for many future generations.
“Sadly the Japanese authorities, with the support of some of those from our own profession in Japan, have colluded to close the doors on the project to the world.
“This shocking treatment of an international design and engineering team, as well as the respected Japanese design companies with whom we worked, was not about design or budget. In fact much of our two years of detailed design work and the cost savings we recommended have been validated by the remarkable similarities of our original detailed stadium layout and our seating bowl configuration with those of the design announced today.
“Work would already be underway building the stadium if the original design team had simply been able to develop this original design, avoiding the increased costs of an 18 month delay and risk that it may not be ready in time for the 2020 Games.”
Zaha Hadid
55 Comments
"...stadium spaceship which was ultimately pulled back to earth in mid-takeoff by the immense gravity of an outraged public reaction." This is an excellent turn of phrase.
Insinuates the copying of her work?! It doesn't look anything like a giant pussy. But her behavior sure does.
Whiner. Cry me a river.
Seems like much of the commentary, like above, was exaggerated, outlandish, and not serious. If your work was blasted with inaccuracies, and no chance for a design development process, you'd be upset too.
Honestly, if they would have hired BIG they would not be in this predicament. What did they expect? Zaha is not exactly known for reasonable projects. Was the team that selected her completely unaware of who the serious Architects in the world are?
Zaha not a "serious architect"?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHahahahahaha, That's funny.
If she capitalized the word architect do you think the world would take her more "seriously"?
knoa, how much are you paid to troll for BIG?
As if they wouldn't have proposed some other budget-busting crap.
That picture... wow.
gwharton, let's see a picture of you now please?
+++ gwharton
Zaha the Hutt, just in time for the release of episode VII.
Miles, your picture now too?
.
Donna Sink, you are looking at gwharton's picture, saying, "That picture... wow."
and this is probably Miles Jaffe
damn! so testy,everyone is. Christmas,be merry time and happy.
i think that tan thing she's wearing helps perpetuate the hutt stereotype. what is that? a snuggie?
Thanks for that feedback, John Stevens!
Do I have to spell this out for you guys?
You're commenting on a person's appearance. What do you look like? How does your physical appearance relate to the work you do in the world? Do you want to live in a world in which someone would look at your physical appearance - or that of someone you love - and judge you as less worthy because of it?
Donna policing the forum with Imperial Storm Troopers.
you can't criticize the choices a person makes with regards to wearing a snuggie in public? surely that's a choice that reflects her aptitude for making design decisions?
i also criticize people who wear scarfs indoors for no good reason.
what if you compared her employment practices to those of the hutt cartel? that's outside of appearance, so allowable right?
I think Jabba has more sophisticated taste in fashion.
cOMPARING EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES TO THE hUTT CARTEL IS FAIR GAME. aPPEARANCE IS NOT, AND SERIOUSLY, YOU GUYS, ESPECIALLY WITH WOMEN.
Hahaha I'm CADing today, as you can see.
I made that comment about the picture because:
A) It's a tremendously unflattering photo, and,
B) It kind of seems like whoever wrote the article included that photo as a not-so-subtle slam on Zaha.
Surely there are more flattering photos of the lady floating around than that one. So why use this one?
And yes, appearances DO matter, and frame how well ideas are communicated and received. I should think every architect would be acutely aware of that reality.
gwharton, of course appearances matter. I've said many times here that we owe it to our clients to design our appearance.
So, if you don't look like this, do you think it's OK if I make fun of you publicly? Compare you to animals and aliens? Say your work sucks? Question your manliness?
I am actually preternaturally good-looking. I don't post photos because I don't want people to feel bad. ;-)
Specific personalities aside, I see both sides of the fence:
Judging a person solely on appearances is just wrong.
But not all persons are the same. Not everyone films themselves advocating for themselves, then posts it online for all the world to see.
(I put most celebrities in this category: don't want people following you around, ruminating on your failures and laughing at your appearance? Great! Go teach school in Boise or sell insurance in Decatur. Problem solved.)
Agreed, citizen. But is has to be acknowledged that there are different standards for women and men relative to their accomplishments. Comments on Zaha's looks fall almost completely within sexist attitudes about how women "should" appear.
Donna, you are the one arguing for a different standard for women, where it is somehow out-of-bounds to trash talk them for being self-aggrandizing fools because it might offend their delicate sensibilities. So, which is it? Are women capable of standing up and taking criticism and shit talk like men, or do they need special safe spaces and protection from mean words? You can't have that both ways.
gwharton, the cover photo is a screen shot from ZHA's New National Stadium Video Presentation which they submitted to the japan sports council and made public on youtube.
if you had taken the time to actually watch it (it's embedded up there), you'd see zaha hadid enter the picture at 0:14. it is an interview-style setting which she chose, and i'm pretty certain that she deliberately selected her outfit and appearance for this very public moment. this is how she feels beautiful and true to herself. it is the look and image she would like to be seen in. no unflattering gotcha moment here.
if you disagree with her fashion choice, it's your valid opinion. you may simply not be into avant garde. but if you compare her to a disgusting space alien because of her body, gender and ethnicity, you're a terrible person.
as far as i can remember, no one ever criticized frank gehry, steven holl, peter zumthor, or santiago calatrava for their hair, choice of pants, skin complexion, or body type but merely on the merits of their work.
silly men, we didn't tell you to marry her! we told to achieve half of what she have achieved and make yourself a name, then we'll see about your look...
gwahrton, it's universally acknowledged that women are already held to a different standard of what is acceptably attractive than are men. Within this context, looking at an accomplished woman and criticizing her for her appearance is far more sexist and rude than is criticizing a man for his. When all men are surrounded constantly by advertising images of Brad Pitt and held to the same standard of physical value as those images, things will change.
If Zaha looked conventionally attractive, like say like Jennifer Lawrence, the criticism here would likely be that she slept her way to success, that a pretty woman couldn't possibly also be talented and smart. Since Zaha isn't conventionally attractive, the criticism is that she's not pretty therefore valueless as a woman. Because for a woman the first thing anyone sees is her appearance, not her work. I'm sure you agree with me, gwharton, that people shouldn't be judged in this way, female or male.
Clothing is different; one chooses how to present oneself in their clothing. IMO Zaha's clothing is awesome, and as Alexander says she likely feels true to herself and beautiful in it - and I agree with her. (She looks fucking awesome, always, IMO.) But don't try to hide behind the color of her shirt as an excuse to compare her to a lizard alien.
If it matters: I think the suggestion that the winning stadium might be copying ZHA's design is outlandish and dumb, and it seems Zaha is continuing her much-proclaimed reputation as a diva by saying so. But that comment has nothing to do with what she looks like. Do you see the difference?
Not to derail, but going back to the article I think there is an interesting discussion to be had about Zaha's claim that the Japanese authorities real reason for rejecting her winning design had to do with protectionism. I don't think its entirely unreasonable to conclude that internal political forces had a significant role to play in the rejection of her stadium, and cost is always a convenient excuse, especially with large prestige projects such as national stadiums. Do these big international prestige projects ever come in on budget? It seems conversations about cost overruns and construction deadlines run hand in hand with every Olympics or World Cup lately.
The original intent of the competition may not have been to award the project to a Japanese design team, and the entire controversy may very well be the result of an internal political shift. But if it was always the goal to have a Japanese team design the national stadium, Zaha has every right to complain, as there was no reason for ZHA or any other non-Japanese team to be involved in the process at all. Without knowing all of the details, I think calling bullshit on the process is not actually an unreasonable thing for her to have done.
Also, for those of you denigrating someone based on their appearance: grow up.
The lack of grace with which she has dealt with losing the commission is on par with the Qatar fiasco. Personal responsibility appears to be non-existent. "Shocking treatment" - what did they do, poke her with a cattle prod? Did she lose it because she's a woman (then why was it awarded to her in the first place ...) or because the design was sexually suggestive, ridiculously complex and absurdly expensive? Not to mention her history of blown budgets ...
+1 Seth Terry
Let me add: when would politics not play a significant part in a process like this? Answer: never.
So the suits and dresses may call bullshit and be legitimately disappointed when they lose. But they can't claim surprise. Sometimes, they're the ones who benefit from a particular political milieu; you don't hear them complain when they're on the winning side.
+1 Miles. She's a poor loser.
listen if Bjarke was involved he would of charmed his way out of the political fiasco, am i right or am i right..........i am sure there a lot of people to blame, but its pretty pathetic to keep blaming people and get cranky about it when you are that successful. now if the new stadium is very similar to a modified version from the VE process, flame them and sue them, but do it like a Dame or a Dane.
Exactly Olaf, I agree that BIG is definitely the best firm out there now and in the conceivable future. To even compare to Zaha is really showing ignorance.
Just because Zaha might look like a Hutt..... never mind.... carry on.
Jesus, Rick. Keep up, please.
As for Zaha's comments...."Never complain and never beg” - Charles B. Thomsen FAIA
Zaina, where are you from? It was mentioned in another thread if I recall correctly.
Nobody asked for a photo of you?
rick we have to work on our social skillls..... .i love a good hutt in the winter
YEP! Sure do. I was too blunt,was I?
i would hate to be Zaha, existentially, like Oprah Winfrey.
but my boy Balkin's I will do my best to help you, and if you were just a bot program, then so be it!
when I was skinny, or senior pic from high school I looked like this
the problem always was - I'm a Commodore kid- C128/64 straight up nerd that somehow could play football.
listen don't get me wrong, I don't feel bad for myself or all my clients who inherit massive wealth from their parents. but there is a bit of pressure to fitting the part without trying, enough to kill yourself.
Balkins - my mother said try E-harmony, I was rejected. have you tried? if so, go rogue man. I saw your pic, you ain't this vampire kid.
all, imagine if Zaha looked liked this and was Japanese
would anyone care what the stadium looked like?
actually, it's Japan, they probably would...you need to look like this to get your building built
If all the architect women looked like her (image) or sexy like that:
I'd spend every possible all-nighter with them EVERY NIGHT. Okay, I'm a guy. Go figure.
If Architecture school studio was like that... it be worth the student loans.
Seriously, Olaf, I am not sure I follow your thought line completely to be honest. I probably have to get out more and also get some more interesting things going in my life for sure.
oh ricki
Definitely the best looking Architect now or maybe ever.
^ Finally, an unbiased post. Now we know for sure that you're not a troll or Bjarke herself.
Stupid sexy Bjarke
toyo ito is also saying the building design is basically zaha's plan with a new skin. The 2 years of work by her office in partnership with japanese construction companies didn't disappear in a computer folder somewhere. It was recycled. At least that is what they are talking about.
Donna, do you find Kuma's project local looking? It seems ironically more generic than Zaha's project. Kuma will make more of it than the rendering shows but it looks a bit like a shopping mall in the pacific northwest so far. it should come in on budget at least.
That's a helpful definition of what Zaha might be referring to as "copying", Will. Thanks for that perspective.
I don't feel knowledgeable enough of Japanese culture to say whether any building is actually local aka vernacular or not. But at least this way the money stays in one country's economy? I'm halfway through the series The Man In The High Tower and it's an interesting view on nationalism.
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