ZAHA HADID: Design Inspired or Unresolved?

OLABISI OLUBUKOLA BANKOLE

RE F L E C T I VE E S S AY 2

ZAHA HADID: Design Inspired or Unresolved?

Critically analyse the work of Zaha Hadid citing a maximum of 2 projects and using Daniel

Libeskind as a counter point /support for your argument

OLABISI OLUBUKOLA BANKOLE

Summer Term, 2013

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The Principal role of an architect includes translating the brief, from inspiration into a concept by

testing them against architectural approaches, and validating the architecture against set standards 1.

These activities in turn drive the framework that helps to evaluate the success of the project.

When i looked at this statement closely in terms of what validates a design work, two definitions

came to mind. One with a traditional architectural outlook by Vitruvius (1960), who stated that suc-

cessful works of architecture are supposed to possess three standard virtues: durability, conven-

ience, and beauty.2

On the other hand, That of Wangsadinata, Djajasudarma(to confirm date) stated that a modern

building3 should satisfy two criteria: (1) fulfilling the functional needs of modern life involving ap-

plication of the latest technological advances, (2) fulfilling the aesthetical satisfaction expressed by

its architectural appearances.

While both differ in view of being objective and the other subjective, both still validated their points

in terms of form (aesthetics and beauty) and function(utility and satisfaction).

In my opinion, whether a design is good or not is not just the question of beauty and functionality,

the "eye of the beholder" is also major factor in evaluating how well a project is performing and

how successful it is perceived.

Zaha designs are therefore not mere inspirational but resolved in the essence of Wangsadinata, Dja-

jasudarma’s definition. Though complex, the functions of a project are fairly quantifiable based on

available facts. Beauty, in contrast , beauty may be more subjective and therefore usually a point of

1 ARCHITECTURE RESOURCES For Enterprise Advantage- http://www.bredemeyer.com

2 Vitruvius, Ten Books on Architecture, trans. M. H. Morgan (New York: Dover, 1960), Book I, Chapter III, Section 2.

3 modern building refers to the fulfillment of a building to the functional needs of modern life, different but related to modern architecture which is about the
latest trend in architectural style

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“the design unresolved” 4 debates within architectural criticism5 . Indeed, what i perceive as aestheti-

cally pleasing or inspiring, might be ugly in the eyes of another. In short, a look at these so called

“idea buildings” serves to demonstrate that the controversy over the building is not a battle between

two conceptions of good architecture: one practical and the other artistic, but as performing impor-

tant social functions..

In this vein, this essay discusses both objectively and subjectively, Zaha Hadid’s designs. Are they

mere interpretations of inspiration to vindicate her personal contextual approach or a true resolution

of the design vision and objective.

I will do this by assessing her award wining Museum of Arts of the XXI century, in Rome. and Eve-

lyn Grace Academy (EGA), London projects in support with one of her kind, Daniel Libeskind’s

well received 2007 extension of Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and the London Metro-

politan University Graduate centre, London.

THE IDEA

A brief survey of Zaha Hadid’s ideas on design enabled me layout some context for this essay. Be-

fore now, i knew little or nothing about her , Daniel Libeskind or any of their works. I have man-

aged to use this to my advantage in this critical review, i don’t have a preformed opinion, so my

“beholders eye” was on a clean slate.

4 design problems or ideas which we haven't agreed (or thought of) what to do about yet.

5 Fact and Function in Architectural Criticism

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Zaha has been identified as a deconstructivist 6, while this reference is evident in most of her work

there are many other references such as Parametricm, Aesthetics and Fragmentation architecture. In

this essay I have opted to describe her as a Deconstructionist7.

Since its birth in the 1980's, a lot has been written by the so-called deconstructionists including

Zaha and Libeskind. Once again, the definitions were subjective opinions, from extreme contrasts to

slight variations . It was therefore useful to select a couple of fairly straightforward definitions

which seem particularly germane to a consideration of her work.

On the method and intent: deconstruction is based on provocation and experiments testing out the

limits of architecture.with the slogan "form follows fantasy"The idea was to develop buildings

which show how differently from traditional architectural conventions buildings can be built

without loosing their utility and still complying with structural requirements.

On characteristics: Deconstructionist architecture are huge abstract sculptures you can enter or ad-

mire rather than real functional buildings. The houses looked as if a bunch of parts had been thrown

together and left exactly the way they fell on the floor.

It therefore isn’t surprising, that critics perpetually portray these architects as mere artist. This is

most likely because the core of their abstractions encourages the open manifestation of complexity

in a building rather than strict attention to functional concerns and conventional design elements.

How then can one take serious a movement that in fact opposes seriousness and convention.

THE ARCHITECTURE

Hadid has had an unusually difficult time getting her projects taken seriously, not to talk of built, the

number of her realized works are rather small compared to other conventional or better put

6 The term is often used interchangeably with 'Deconstructionist. But 'Deconstructivism' refers rather specifically to the analogies with Russian Constructivism

o be found in the work of architects such as Zaha Hadid and Daniel Libeskind.

7 Though the negative associations of this term are not altogether helpful to a consideration of her work.

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“commercial” architects, due to the high costs and the fact that big companies couldn’t make ra-

tional sense of her buildings.

But by 1990‘s the deconstructive - fragmentation in her drawings began to give way to more fluid

forms. It seems that over the 10 years between The Peak8 and the Vitra Fire Station9, Hadid’s think-

ing had evolved from virtual to reality. I believe that her gradual acceptance, coupled with the

growing pre-eminence of the computer in architectural design and construction gave her designs

momentum. Despite its dramatic form, Zaha’s design her vision was no longer about breaking up

and scattering but bringing a fusion of form and function with a little compromise where it matters.

She realized that if she wanted to have her designs built, they would have to become more con-

tained, unified and “buildable”.

I believe this realization is what liberated Hadid, enabling her to create the complexly curvilinear,

fluid, dynamic and unprecedented forms that have today become her signature. In another way, it

propelled new concepts, like never before that twist simple forms into complex ones with as much

intensity as her early works.

THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE DESIGN TO ITS CONTEXT

Despite the drastic change, detractors still see the architect as an artist, concerned only with the ap-

pearance of the structure that she is creating, or perhaps just with the idea behind the structure, as an

end in itself. Critics of her designs have complained about a number of their features, including lack

of site specificity, repetition, but their lack of functionality has been a particular target.

8 her first design; it wasn’t built

9 her first built and completely realized project

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Does this mean that, in its detachment from reality10, her works are ultimately empty and uninterest-

ing?

For example Hadid’s Evelyn Grace Academy project are pertinent to Libeskind's London Metro-

politan `Graduate Center. Their approach could hardly be more demonstrably appropriate for sector

(Education) which has undergone substantial change over the last few years and is keen to lay down

visible markers of a new outward- and forward-looking culture.

Many critics have emphasized how the new London Metropolitan Graduate Centre built on the

London North campus directly on the Holloway Road doesn’t sit well within its neighbouring

buildings. I believe the building liberates modern university architecture from its redbrick, tower

block image, away from a tradition of functionality over form.

The same has been said about Zaha’s EGA design, among the first examples of architecture that

everyone experiences and evidently has a profound impact on all children.

Perhaps Zaha and Daniels institutional design, the first of both architects in London and in their ca-

reer are even more “original” routes to conserving and enhancing the qualities of the existing build-

ings (without making major compromises in the design of the new) than those suggested by the lot.

I was inspired in my visit to both evelyn grace academy, London and London metropolitan graduate

centre, London, and i must say that thanks to their significant differences to all other bland build-

ings around, the “deconstructive” ones makes clear to any observer that architecture is an art and

not just an engineering discipline.

As a matter of fact, i don't believe in architects that take the easiest and most visible route to neigh-

bourliness by imitating the features of the project’s environment (especially when these buildings

themselves may have been considered disjunctive in their relationships with one another in the

10 a quote by Thorsell, in Hume, “ROM Plaza Will Bring Bloor St. New Life,” A9.

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past), Where is the creativity and individuality in playing it safe, this typical of “commercial” ar-

chitects - the “sell outs” of the design industry.

THE PURPOSE OF THE BUILDING

Much of the coverage on Hadid have addressed the form rather than the particular purpose of the

design. And, where the question of the purpose of the building was raised, there seems to have been

some confusion as to whether it had one at all.

Consider for example, her design of The Evelyn Grace Academy(EGA) in Brixton, London, which

offers an opportunity to broaden not only the educational diversity but also the built environment in

that area. This Academy presents itself as an open, transparent and welcoming addition to the com-

munity’s local urban regeneration process.

Critics said that Hadid's design is 'completely inappropriate' to its context or a 'profoundly contex-

tual design'. I would have agreed to this statement if the original function of a school is not at all a

significant part (though not the entirety) of the building. This building in question not only has the

principal “ traditional function of a school as an institution designed for the teaching of students (or

"pupils") under the direction of teachers” it also has the modern function of a school as a multifunc-

tional place for integrated learning with well thought out sport, recreational, social facilities given

its restriction in space.

The same has been said about Daniel Libeskind’s (ROM) and Zaha’s MAXXI museum renovation

construction. Both are dramatic structures composed of sloping walls that meet at sharp angles.

ROM’s staff and patrons complained about the space’s unsuitability for exhibitions, citing the ab-

sence of vertical walls. They declared it a “useless” building, writing that, despite its impressive

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appearance from the street, once inside, “you need a map to move around its irrational and baffling

dead spaces.” 11

This approach might seem to vindicate the critics of Zaha’s MAXXI and Libeskind’s ROM: that the

function of a museum is its historical function of displaying collections of significant natural and

cultural artifacts for the public.

On the other hand In a world where one can instantaneously access a “collection” of information

about other cultures and the natural world, the notion of actually going to see a set of physical ob-

jects displayed in a room may seem, to some, irrelevant. This suggests that public demand for the

traditional services of the museum may no longer be strong enough to keep it in existence

Over the last forty years, museums have gradually been shifting to this new model: becoming

“multi-faceted, layered and complex places bound up with the community in a myriad of ways, ac-

cessible and transparent on the street, the new common space, the new city square.” 12

This is also evident in the reason why flexibility of use was the main goal in the brief of the

MAXXI project. Zaha’s design in response to the brief shows continuity of spaces, and makes it a

suitable place for any kind of moving and temporary exhibition, without redundant wall divisions or

interruptions(see fig.1 ).

11 Kennicott declared it the worst building of the decade, and wrote that it “surpasses the ugliness of bland functional
buildings by being both ugly and useless.” Philip Kennicott, “Architecture: Best of the Decade,” Washington Post, December 27, 2009, E4.

12 Thorsell, “The Museum as New Agora.”

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I am positive that ROM’s capacity to allow Torontonians to shop, dine, and dance together was not

what drove its “original “construction in what was still a very provincial town.

In short, in recent times museums have survived by adapting, and this process of adaptation has

turned them into something new. If an analysis along these lines— and again, the above is only a

crude sketch of one—is correct, then i have been correct, after all, about the proper function of the

museum: it is multifunctional.13

13 “The Aesthetic Peculiarity of Multifunctional Artefacts,” The British Journal of Aesthetics 45 [2005]: 412–425).

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CONCLUSION

As the example of her projects should indicate, far from being 'nihilistic' and merely for the sake of

it, they are conceived both to evoke history and 'actively confront change'.

The kinds of characteristics indicated above, resourced by zaha hadid’s unusually international,

transcultural, inter-disciplinary background and experience, have brought her to the attention, in

recent years, of a number of clients with cultural projects. Another proof that her designs are not

only infused with reference specific to site, location, and building type but are conceived to offer

creative challenges and spark the imagination of both makers and users.

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