The Works of Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas - Essay Example

Compare and contrast the work of Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas The history of design and architecture has seen a tremendous shift from the traditional to the most complicated patterns and techniques of the art to reflect the changing concept of world and urbanity in particular. As a result of the vast changes in the modern world, there is a notion that the modern design and architecture goes through a significant change. In fact, the architects, architectural theorists and modern designers are responding positively to this new environment of urbanism and modernism. There began the rise of a number of architects who found the need of modern approach to the architectural theories and practices. Every possibility to create new methods of architecture in the building up of a new system of architectural design is exploited to the maximum. The modern urban setting of the architecture is directed towards future visions of the city. Design in the modern world is a complex process making it difficult to understand. “Designing is a complex process which needs to be understood by teachers if they are to enable their pupils to get the most from the subject.” 1Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas are among the proponents of such a new design of urban cities through their architectural products. Zaha Hadid, born in Iraq, was the first woman to win the greatest honour of architecture, the Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate. “As an architect, she is constantly challenging, stretching and extending the boundaries of architecture and urban design. She is continually engaged with the potential of spatial experimentation to create visionary urban landscapes.” The Dutch, “Rem Koolhaas is a pioneering figure in the world of architecture. He is an architect, urbanist and theorist. His ideas about architecture and cities are as influential as his buildings. In fact his writings bought him fame before a single building was even completed.”2 The works of these masters of architecture are enough to illustrate growth and changes in the field of architecture. The evolutionary nature of design and architecture is clear from the radical reinterpretation of the modern design by the Deconstructive theorists Hadid and Koolhaas. “The deconstructive move is accompanied by a reconstructive one, with the re-assembled forming a new pattern.” 3 Is there a new vision for architecture that is reflected in the designs of the new model architects? As the article by Charles Jencks suggests, “If there really is a new paradigm in architecture then it will reflect changes in science, religion and politics…” 4 There is a great change from the mechanistic view of the world to a self organizing view of it. The new paradigm of Rem Koolhaas with many other architects of this type and the architects influenced by Deconstruction like Hadid and others are ever aiming at the transformation of the existing theories of architecture. These architects “produce suggestive and unusual shapes as a matter of course, as if architecture had become a branch of surrealist sculpture.”5 An understanding of the works of Hadid and Koolhaas and a comparison as well as contrast can help our understanding of the new realms of architecture and design. Zaha Hadid finished her studies from Architectural Association School of Architecture in London after which she worked with her former master Koolhaas at the Office of Metropolitan Architecture. After a short period of partnership with him and Peter Rice, she in 1980 began her London-based practice. “Architecture has been in Hadids blood, ever since she first visited Sumer in the south of Iraq, where architecture itself began and the first cities were built.” 6 Her most recognized works include the Vitra Fire Station in Wolfsburg, Germany (1993), the Rosenthal Centre for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati (2003), the Phaeno Science Centre in Weil am Rhein, Germany (2005) and others. They illustrate the architectural genius of the influential architect. Hadid has created magnificent buildings all over the world. The most noticeable quality of the works of Hadid was that they were never conventional and she is very much determined to see the works realized to her vision and expectation. This uncompromising and determined outlook of the architectural vision makes her works universally recognised. Hadid is an architect who would rely on different possible media to explore the ideas of her architectural vision. Painting, drawing, modelling, animation and other such varieties of media are explored for the best purpose of her works. This extensive use of different and useful resources makes her works distinct from that of many of her contemporaries. Her use of painting for the purpose of investigating and expanding the architectural space is especially noteworthy. Painting has been crucial for her experimentation with movement and transformation in architecture. She advocates for architectural sensibility which in her view is important for the design of master works. In her architectural view, “form and space-making are of prime concern and the architectural elements of point, line, plane and volume are employed as types of urban fields. For example, point is represented as fields of villas, line – as fields of towers, plane – as fields of slabs and volume – as fields of urban blocks.” 7 “There is no getting away from the fact that architecture played at Hadids level is becoming ever more theatrical. It has been suggested that such architects are as much "directors" as designers of buildings. Hadid aims to shape entire urban landscapes, spaces and places we have yet to imagine, let alone build.” 8 To understand the works of Rem Koolhaas, another deconstructive architect who was the teacher and partner of Hadid, will illustrate the modern techniques of design more explicitly. This ground-breaking figure in the world of architecture is a modern urban theorist in architecture. Born in Netherlands, he first appeared in the critical acclaim with his work with the Office for Metropolitan Architecture. Founded in collaboration with architects like Zoe Zenghelis and Madelon Vrissenndorp, the centre was soon joined by his Student Hadid who was to go on to achieve success of her own. His important works include Delirious New York (1978) and S, M, L, XL with Bruce Mau and Hans Werlemann (1995) in which he “observes, records and proposes new ways of thinking about cities and explores a type of architecture that is humanist. He believes that writing helps expand architectural thinking and the possibilities of architecture and urbanism.” 9 Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid worked together early in their careers. Their works feature in Global Cities. Hadid, from her very early stages, was single minded and was noted for her forcefulness which was both a curse as well as blessing to her. It was a curse for her as many of the clients would not dare to approach her for the same reason. In the early years she was more noted for the works that she was not able to accomplish than those she built. This particular characteristic was, however, the peculiarity of her architecture that make the works world famous. The experience with Koolhaas was of great significance to her development as an accomplished architect. Koolhaas offered her a partners role and the interest of both these architects were in the direction of neo-modernity. Koolhaas expressed this tendency of his design in his books. Zaha Hadid was “a planet in her own orbit” in the words of Koolhaas and she did not stay with him for long. “Hadid had her own ideas on architecture to nurture. And it was a long incubation.” 10 To compare the two architects we can very well see that they both were directed towards the modern ways of architectural design and wanted to shape the most modern urban city and style. They were both architects of the most modern techniques of designing and wanted to exhibit their skill to give right model to the contemporary designers. Both of them are international celebrities of architectural designing and their fame rest entirely on the new vision of their architectural space and world. The modern view of the urban architecture has been reflected in their works. Hadid was a more accomplished architect in the latter stages of her career and she had a strong theory of architecture and design assisted with the strong desire to get this vision accomplished. The art of the architectural genius was reinforced by the use of different techniques of modern design. Compared to her teacher, she had to face much more struggles but was truly more recognised and acclaimed for her architectural vision. The difference in their work results mainly due to the changing perspectives of these eminent artists. Though they worked in the same line and with the same vision of architecture, the range and scope of their vision differ making the difference in their design. Hadid was totally controlled by her own thinking and ideas about design making her work exclusively individual in character. In the early career she was considered as an architect who could not materialise her mental art. In current scenario Hadid “has won much critical and popular acclaim with her built work.” 11 The two architectural genius, thus, occupy a prime position in the modern world of architectural design. Bibliography Faller, Routledge et al., 2002. Issues in Design and Technology Teaching. Designing - what does it mean at Key Stages 2 and 3? pp. 273. Fry, Tony., 1999. A New Design Philosophy. An Introduction to Defuturing. University of New South Wales Press. Sydney, N.S.W. pp. 2. HADID, Zaha. Architect in Focus. Compare contrast work Zaha hadis Rem Koolhaas. P. 12. Last accessed 1 December 2007 at: http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:c6UtQUIpvgMJ:www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/globalcities/pdf/global_cities_teachers_pack.pdf+Compare+and+contrast+the+work+of+Zaha+Hadid+and+Rem+Koolhaas&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=in I dont do nice. Zaha Hadid. Last accessed 1 December 2007 at: http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1890945,00.html Jencks, Charles., 2003. The New Paradigm in Architecture. The Architectural Review. V. 213, Issue.1272. KOOLHAS, Rem. Architect in Focus. Compare contrast work Zaha hadis Rem Koolhaas. pp.14. Last accessed 1 December 2007 at: http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:c6UtQUIpvgMJ:www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/globalcities/pdf/global_cities_teachers_pack.pdf+Compare+and+contrast+the+work+of+Zaha+Hadid+and+Rem+Koolhaas&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=in Zaha Hadid. (2007). Architect 1950. Zaha Hadid Architecture and Design. [online]. Design Museum. Last accessed 1 December 2007 at: http://www.designmuseum.org/design/zaha-hadid Zaha Hadid. [online]. Unica home. . Last accessed 1 December 2007 at: http://www.unicahome.com/p19323/zaha-hadid-complete-works.html Read More