Zaha Hadid Starcitect a 20th century phenomenon - Dissertation Example

? Contents 1 Introduction 3 2 Discussion 5 2 Globalisation, the concept of commonality, and the emergence of ‘starchitecture’ 5 2.2 ZahaHadid – a famous female ‘starchitect’ (an overview of her career) 8 2.3 The vitra fire station- the first project by Zaha Hadid 14 2.4 MAXXI- Zaha Hadid’s art museum in Rome 17 2.5 One design of Hadid that was not built 19 20 Conclusion 22 Bibliography 23 Abstract ‘Starchitect’ a recent phenomenon in the field of art of architecture, is used to distinguish the architects who have used their structural creations in a manner that have turned them into society celebrities. The buildings that they created have become iconic in nature and have started representing that very city. In a technological world that is global in nature, most civic heads are now aiming to create global villages that are uniform in nature, without overtly portraying any of the local culture and traditions. It is here the ‘starchitects’ have gained prominence by creating structures that have no link to history or traditions, and are more futuristic in colour , and thus can fit almost anywhere in this world. In this article, I will examine the works of the famous ‘starchitect’ Zara Hadid’s works, to comprehend the uniqueness in this form of architecture. Name Instructor’s name Date ‘Star architect’ and Zaha Hadid– a 20th century phenomenon 1 Introduction Starchitecture culture is “characterised by the premature coronation of designers based on flashy forms and blowout press coverage, the infection of schools with the idea of fame as a career objective and...a certain enabling complicity by the leading lights of our critical establishment” – Phillip Nobel, 1 ‘Starchitect’ is a recent phenomena or ‘neologism’ that is a relatively new doctrine within the field of art of architecture. The term is used to distinguish architects (and also artists/ sculptors), who have used their works in a manner that have turned them into a celebrity of sorts, and after receiving a certain degree of critical acclaim they have managed to transform themselves into idols of the architecture world, and in the process even earning fame amongst the general public. It has been observed that worldwide developers are quite enthusiastic to bring in the "top talent" or (starchitects), in order to attract the local governments into approving projects for large developments, or when requiring more financial help, and also for adding more star quality into their projects in order to raise the building value. The chief characteristic of a starchitect's design is that it is always so different from the surrounding architecture, that it forcibly stands out and is highly visible within a particular locality, thus often turning into an icon, by its mere power of being starkly different. Since this entire process is completely dependent on the media publicity and the subsequent degree of current visibility, there are also instances of architects losing the ‘starchitect’ status (hence turning into former ‘starchitects’) owing to fading visibility in the media, thus forcing these icons to always try and remain within the range of media visibility. The latest development in this field is the hiring of famous ‘starchitects’ by various civic heads, in order to produce structures that turn into a landmark feature, an iconic representation of a city, thus elevating its international status or profile. Having maverick architects like Zaha Hadid, Renzo Piano, or Norman Foster designing an opera house or a museum, are instances of ‘starchitecture,’ when architectures or buildings are produced for more of a shock value, which would help to create a landmark or an icon. According to a recent economic theory followed by the civic heads, claims that a city tends to thrive and flourish if it possesses some amount of an international fame.2 This was most evident in the case of Bilbao, where we find the ‘starchitect’ Frank Gehry designed an art museum, and this allowed the town to achieve immediate international fame, which in turn created a significant increase in tourism to this centre, thus attracting large revenues. During the 1990s, ‘starchitecture’ was highly influenced by the theories of Deconstructivism, a postmodern form of architecture that began in the late 1980s. Deconstructivism, is distinguished by notions of fragmentation, creation of various non-rectilinear shapes or changing a structure’s skin or surface texture that distorts some of the fundamental architectural elements, like the basic concepts of envelope or structure. The ultimate visual expression of the buildings that reflect deconstructivist theory characterises an interesting unpredictability, and a sense of chaos kept under tight control. The most famous architect that has worked and experimented with this theory in the recent times is the Iraq born famous female ‘starchitect,’ Zaha Hadid, who has remained faithful to this concept, even though many of the original ‘deconstructivist’ architects of the 1980s have now moved away from the form, and refuse to be now associated with it. It has been observed that a majority of the star architects can be listed amongst the world's best designers, and those that have experienced or are using spaces created by these architects, does indeed hold a special kind of feeling. In this arena of famous ‘starchiects’ the name of Zaha Hadid stands apart, as being the only famous female architect in this male dominated industry. Though right from the start of her career she faced strong opposition, bias, and fierce criticisms, Hadid did not let her detractors sway her. Instead, she managed to stay true to the theory of ‘deconstructivistm’ even in the face of the fiercest opposition, and have produced structures that have created awe and bright her fame. This article will analyse Zaha Hadid’s life and works while examining her position as that of a strong female figure within this rather male dominated, alien and publicity conscious arts industry. 2 Discussion 2.1 Globalisation, the concept of commonality, and the emergence of ‘starchitecture’ Fundamentally, architecture depends on integrating the science of construction and technology, with the concept of arts, and producing buildings that are technologically sound so as to last for many years, while also possessing an aesthetical beauty. While developing an urban space, there are two major factors that come into play. The first is the ‘social construction of urban space,’ where the people living within an area give a meaning to that place and space); and the second is the ‘social production of urban space,’ where the society is organised in a manner where it modifies and creates the built environment around itself 3(Knox, 173). Recently we have noticed that with the emergence of the concept of globalisation, there have been large-scale modifications in the above-mentioned two factors that influence building and constructing in a certain place. With a rise global trend in consumerism and a thirst for spectacle and fame, there are perceived changes in the way one creates and designs a modern city. The outcomes that have emerged from the new trends are “commodification of urban nightlife, the proliferation of ‘starchitecture’ and the ‘museumization’ of central city districts” (ibid). In this context, we will only concentrate on examining the outcomes of ‘starchitecture’ that have come into vogue and proliferated owing to increasing levels of globalisation, consumerism, and a love for the spectacle. A major consequence of globalisation that is primarily capitalist in nature is that, there have been major changes in the worldwide architectural compositions. With a huge clientele that is spread all over the world, there is now a trend in creating a global portfolio for architectural designs. An inevitability of this trend is the commonality of the architectural products found globally, and a lack of innovativeness and creativity. There are now large transnational architectural firms like the A & E that occupy a major pie in the international construction and development market with their large capacities to churn out products (“strong delivery firms”). The second group of architectural firms seen are the “strong service firms” that are primarily business centred with a strong orientation towards designs also. The third type that is rapidly making its presence felt, are the “strong-idea firms” which goes by the global brand name of “starchitectures” and are quite well known for many signature projects around the world (Gutman, 55-56). The third type of firms are being especially promoted by the state sponsored municipalities that are global in nature and wish to elevate their cities into achieving a high global status by promoting the building of “ signature buildings and the affect of celebrity. By choosing modern, high tech and futuristic architectural designs from celebrity architects, local political and economic elites are able to create transnational urban spaces.”4 These star buildings created by the celebrity architects, working for the firm or even owing them, easily place the cities on the global map, while these iconic buildings soon turn into a backdrop for music videos, movie shoots, news telecast, and TV commercials. 5 Thus, we find that the modern approach of the civic fathers towards building a city, is in forming a common and uniform space that must necessarily be created by a celebrity ‘starchitecture’ in order it bring fame and a transnational look, so that it would make the people coming from different parts of the world, feel ‘at home.’ In this context, we will now examine Zaha Hadid and her works that have brought fame, to both the architect and many of the globalised cities, worldwide. 2.2 Zaha Hadid – a famous female ‘starchitect’ (an overview of her career) Donald Mcneill in 2009 reported that the famous ‘starchitects’ like Zaha Hadid , Norman Foster, Mario Botta or Frank Gehry had certain similar attributes, as regards their persona. The first is that these people have managed to create an identifiable persona through the use of TVs, magazines, books, or simply by using something that is sensational within their personal style, and they have simply managed to ‘stand out.’ In this regards Mc Neill claims that ‘starchitects’ or the ‘global architects’ includes “thirty to forty five year old ‘visionary,’ a manifesto writing, loft dwelling center-leftie wearing miniature glasses and ‘anything tight fitting and black’; and the ‘contender’ with the practice name of ‘Me and partners,’ ‘a pragmatic balance between promoting the name of the dominant design partner, and acknowledging the contribution/presence of colleagues,’ who appears ‘50% academics/ 50% business guru-...gracefully greying hair and a subscription to fortune.”6 So suddenly, we find that the architects branded as celebrities with a global status, which in turn represent the very symbol of the brand or firm they own or work. These celebrity ‘starchitects’ are used to lend their names likes signatures, over various run down structures that need re-development. Much of glamorous ‘starchitects’ are media publicized and created, and have inadvertently become a part of socio-economic milieu that are “privatised, competitive and disposable.” 7 Zara Hadid, a female (practically the only one) well-known ‘starchitect’ of the twentieth century, was born in Baghdad- Iraq in 1950. She studied and obtained a degree in mathematics from the American University (Beirut), and later proceeded to study in London at the Architectural Association School of Architecture.  She graduated from this school, and later in 1977, set up her firm in the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in partnership with her former professors Elia Zenghelis and Rem Koolhaas.  It was while working with Koolhaas that Hadid met Peter Rice, an engineer, who later turned into her chief mentor. Rice supported her throughout her early career when Hadid was finding it difficult to obtain a foothold within the construction and architectural industry. Finally, we find that in 1980 she managed to form her own practice that was London based, while also teaching at her former school of the Architectural Association. Later as she rose in fame and achieved a ‘celebrity’ status she received various invitations to teach at the various prestigious architectural schools around the world, and at one point of time, Hadid also held the prestigious Kenzo Tange Chair at the Graduate School of Design in Harvard University. Personally, Hadid was greatly influenced by her liberal upbringing in Iraq and Europe. As a child, Hadid had received education in a very cosmopolitan Baghdad and there were Christian and Jewish children along with the Muslims students within the same class, thus giving her a broad outlook right from a very young age. Hadid as an architect was greatly influenced by the designs of the Russian constructivist and supremacist artists, and admired works by Erich Mendelsohn, Charles-Edouard Jeanerette and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.8 Hadid has always shown a great strength of mind and single minded forcefulness, which has often worked negatively in this male-dominated industry, and helped her win many detractors, though Hadid did not let this pull her down. Hadid within the span of her career has received widespread global acclaim and has won many international competitions. However, though yielding significant theoretical influence and creating many path breaking designs, quite a large number of her award winning designs ultimately never saw the daylight, eg., the Cardiff Bay Opera House in Wales in 1994, and also the The Peak Club in Hong Kong in 1983. In 2002, Hadid managed to win the award for the best design at a competition, where the designers had to submit plans for the redevelopment of a one-north area in the city of Singapore. Again, in 2005, she received the award for the best designer in a competition for the New City Casino of Basel, Switzerland. In 2004, Zara Hadid was the first amongst the female ‘starchitects’ to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize, that is considered as the Nobel Prize in the field of architecture, while also being honoured with an Honorary Degree from her own college, the American University of Beirut. Zaha Hadid's own architectural design firm that is based in London, is named as Zaha Hadid Architects, and it employs more than 350 people, which has a flourishing global business. In 2008, we find that Hadid was listed in the Forbes list, and ranked 69th in "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women."9 Given below are some her works that show how her buildings manage to stand apart and create an aura of awe, which is the primary criterion of a ‘starchitect’s building. These buildings show the reason as to why Zaha Hadid is referred to as one of the top ‘starchitects’ in the world. Fig 4 (a): The entire series is titled “Space Age Architecture,” and had been created and conceptualised by Zara Hadid. Here in this picture the concept had been visualised from a soft drink can that had been crushed in one side, and thrown away into a dustbin, and through the building Hadid simply “explores the crushing process and contrasts it.”   This structure holds the court of Justice buildings in Madrid, Spain.10 Fig 4 (b): The Chicago pavilion by Zara Hadid. This building “was supposed to tour different cities around the world” and the entrance is outstanding and unique in its shell like structure that is pristine white in colour and stands out amongst the backdrop of tall skyscrapers. 11 Fig 4(c and d- below): another outstanding and awe inspiring structure by Hadid, created in Egypt. Here “the Stonewalls are really out of the box, they might not be out of place on planet Mars, the building give the impression of the letter Y and the contrast with the winged glass on the left side... [and] together they give a futuristic feel... [where one almost] see a science fiction movie asking to be shot in this location.12” Thus, again we see the typical characteristics that are prevalent in almost all famous works of a ‘starchitect,’ where they stand out, almost in defiance, against all other surrounding structures, defining the very landscape with their size, structure and boldness; however, aesthetically whether they can be called a ‘true work of art,’ remains controversial. Fig 4(d): check fig 4 (c) for details. Fig 4(e): The Cairo expo city as seen in daylight and in the night with lights on. Hadid has given an effect which is completely futurisic and aweinspiring, and has the ‘wow factor’ that we have studied previously in this discourse. 13 With its size and grandeur and unearthly strcutures, it almost transports the viewer to another world, whis is the effect that most ‘startarchitect’ strive to create. Hadid has achieved the power to inspire awe almost effortlessly, in all her works that have been presented here. Thus, it proves beyond any doubt that she has all the characristics necessary to bcome a world famous ‘starchitect’ in her own rights and a talented deconstructivist, which is evident in the interesting unpredictability of her works and her intriguing use of various non-rectilinear shapes and fragmentation to create a visual delight. 2.3 The vitra fire station- the first project by Zaha Hadid Fig 5 (a): The Vitra Fire Station in Weil am Rhein was Zaha Hadid's first built project (exterior part) 14 This relatively small structure displayed unusual dimensions and angles that had earned Zaha Hadid great admiration from the critical circles. During this time (1980-90s), she was famous for her ingenious conceptual work that is very prominent in this work, and is also seen in some of her un-built projects, like the entry that won a prize at the Peak International Design Competition for Hong Kong in 1983. The Vitra fire station was built within the Vitra furniture design and manufacturing complex, and was built with the aim of serving all the Vitra's buildings that fell outside the fire districts range. Volunteers worked in this Vitra factory, and it was operational until the Vitra complex came under the purview of a neighbouring fire department, after which the building became obsolete. It was for this reason that (though there were rumours that an error occurred on Hadid's part, where she did not keep enough space to house the fire trucks, which was however later proven to be erroneous) that the building later became Vitra’s showplace for its chair collection (shown below) Fig 5 (b): The Vitra Fire Station in Weil am Rhein- the interior part 15 The interior of the building is as creative built as the outside, where the viewer observes multiple optical tricks especially within the downstairs bathrooms in the building. Hadid's interplay of different angles (signs of her deconstructivist notions) and her colour use makes the interior extremely interesting without making it busy. At the back of the building there are ‘poured concrete benches’ that reflect sculptural aspect if the building. The rear part of this building shows an “interesting connection to Le Corbusier's Notre Dame du Haut, whereby Hadid seems to evoke the front end of a large ship, with its sharp end and exaggerated height.”16 The firehouse that was Hadid’s first project thus seems to embody her ingenuity in her ability to play with angles, colours, and create a strong visual impact that makes this structure stand apart. In the next part, we will examine one of her recent projects the art museum in Rome where we find that Hadid still continues to use the innovative concept of creating a structure that is different from its counterparts, yet awe inspiring in its own way. 2.4 MAXXI- Zaha Hadid’s art museum in Rome Fig 6: MAXXI – The museum in Rome by Zaha Hadid. Through this structure, Hadid acted as a catalyst where she separated art and architecture and made them as two divergent discourses. 17 In this structure we find that Zaha Hadid has sidestepped all the conventional forms that are in use in modern architectural form like planes and boxes, and has chosen an a completely form like using tilted and warped vectors. Hadid uses MAXXI to present a strong summation of the ideas that she had explored during the past years. The chief notion that Hadid tries to express through MAXXI, is that buildings do not represent static structures but are complex, entities that are mutable and change as they gradually emerge from the various interplay of ‘energy and activity’ at the building site. The long and curvaceous walls of the building run along the outline of the site (L-shaped), and it expands and retracts according to the neighbouring street lines. In this building Hadid has made use of materials such as steel (used in the stairs), glass for the roof, and cement in the walls to give it a very neutral look, while the mobile panels have been created to lend it variety and flexibility. “The fluid and sinuous shapes, the variety and interweaving of spaces and the modulated use of natural light [lend it a] constantly changing and unexpected views from within the building and outdoor spaces.”18 Hadid had commented as regards this building “I see the MAXXI as an immersive urban environment for the exchange of ideas, feeding the cultural vitality of the city. The MAXXI should not be considered just one building - but several. The idea was to move away from the idea of “the museum as an object” and towards the idea of a “field of buildings.”19 As regards the critical question of the structure’s urban conceptuality, MAXXI addresses this by keeping in line with the army barracks that were there previously there, “and continues the low-level urban texture set against the higher level blocks on the surrounding sides of the site [thus] the MAXXI is more like an ‘urban graft’, a second skin to the site.”20 Here again we find that Hadid broke away from all conventional norms and brings in her own intriguing concepts that redefines all old designs. Here, Hadid made full use of her deconstructivist theories which is evident in the interesting unpredictability of the structure and the interesting use of the various non-rectilinear shapes and fragmentation along with the use of ‘controlled chaos,’ and managed create an architecture of visual delight. The structure originally designed to house various priceless art pieces, becomes by the virtue of its own architectural innovativeness, a priceless structure in its own rights. 2.5 One design of Hadid that was not built Fig 7: The Cardiff Bay Opera House designed by Hadid that was not built owing to strong opposition21 The most famous project that however ultimately did not see the daylight was Hadid’s 1994 design for the Cardiff Bay Opera House. The Opera House was a proposed redevelopment project for the ‘performing arts’ for the Cardiff bay in Wales, which was later abandoned by its chief financier the Millennium Commission, after there were strong opposition from the local political groups that contended London was forcibly imposing an elitist structure on the Welsh city. At this time the English popular taste, was more open to new and daring ideas. However, the award winning design proposed by Hadid (which was a glass structure built radically round the main theatre house) was still too futuristic for the common person. Though this design won the competition, yet Hadid did not get a chance to build it, and it served as a lesson for this famous starchitect. This unfortunate incident “set back her office for several years, [and became] a turning point in her career...without dumping down, she has slowly learnt the politics of how to get her work built.”22 Hadid’s success did not come easily, and in the male dominated architectural industry there were many times when her work faced outright rejection, even after winning competitions. From this incident and from any others Hadid learnt many lessons as an architect, while also learning the tricks of how to achieve success in a profession that is completely male-dominated. This incident also gave her a lesson in ensuring that the customer does not shy away from admiring a radical design. She has often been outspoken about her lessons learnt from the acceptance and later rejection of many of her award designs.23 The Cardiff Bay Opera House (fig 7) was twice accepted and later rejected each time, after strong local opposition. She later commented that this experience, although humiliating, made her learn the tricks of getting a customer to accept her design and also having it built. Hadid has been slow to receive her success. One of her first design known as The Peaks, (a Hong Kong spa) created in 1982 was accepted, but ultimately was not built owing to the fact that the developer became bankrupt. Her various projects in West Berlin and Dusseldorf also faced failure, and Hadid’s first finished structure the Vitra fire station (fig 5) that was later abandoned, and turned into a chair museum. Later she archived success to a certain extent form her two completed projects, the ‘Hoenheim-North Terminus and Car Park’ in France, and the Bergisel Ski Jump in, Austria. In 2003, Hadid’s career finally reached the pinnacle that she had been looking for, with the inauguration of her project ‘The Richard and Lois Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art’ in Ohio. A look at Zaha Hadid’s architecture shows us that like a true deconstuctivist her creations deny their own solidity. “Short of creating actual forms that morph and change shape—still the stuff of science fiction—Hadid creates the solid apparatus to cause us to perceive space as though it morphs and changes as we pass through.”24 Her works that persistently reveal the interplay with shadow and enigma is Islamic in its nature; while the fluid movement of her structures and their open nature is almost like a political challenge, thrown against the modern, ghetto like, undemocratic, urban structures. Her style can be said to combine the fine parts of deconstructivism and the Neomodernism theories, and undoubtedly represents one of the few best architectural creations of the modern times. Conclusion The various works by Zara Hadid as a starchitect, though awe inspiring and extremely innovative has earned a great deal of criticism that is evident in this piece of writing that asks, as regards her MAXXI museum, “So what is the purpose of this building? Is it to be seen as a Iconic sculpture of the 21st Century set within the Italian society or is it as way of saying that you should not come to the museum to look at the beautiful art that is inside because you won’t find anything as I have designed the walls so people look at my art instead?” 25 Despite such strong criticisms, there is no doubt that Hadid stands apart in her intriguing and beautiful creations. Standing alone in an alien and male dominated industry, Hadid managed to break away from both the classical and formal modernism as are perceived in the works of Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe. She also does away with the traditional notions of spaces that dictate ceilings and walls to be placed at the back and always at right angles. She reforms all the old ideas and creates new concepts, as she says, “a new fluid, kind of spatiality” that consist of multidimensional aspects and a geometric pattern that is fragmented in nature, and carefully designed to reflect the chaotic mobility of the modern 21st century life. There is no doubt that Hadid and some of her contemporary ‘starchitects’ are immensely talented, and this evident in some of the ‘awe inspiring’ structures that they produced. Whether their structures that so reflect the typical features and attributes of this era, can actually survive the ravages of time and the shifting preferences of the society (as have the ancient structures), can only be answered with time. Bibliography Art+Designland, 2009. Zara Hadid:Zara Hadid Space Age Architechture. 14th March 2011. Retrieved from http://www.designsdelight.com/architechture/zara-hadidzara-hadid-space-age-architecture/ British Council, 2007. Zaha Hadid. Retrieved from, http://designmuseum.org/design/zaha-hadid Cooke, C. Iconophobia and the discovery of the Starchitects. 14th March 2010, retrieved from, http://gordonmaclaren.org/teaching/documents/MPLpreflight4.pdf Davies, P., and Schmiedeknecht, T. 2005. An architect's guide to fame. Oxford: Elsevier. Egan, M., and. Schoenberger, C. 2008. The World's 100 Most Powerful Women. 13th March 2011. 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[New York Times] 13th March 2011, retrieved from, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/arts/design/28cnd-pritzker.html?_r=1&hp Rybczynski, W. 2002. The Bilbao Effect. The Atlantic Monthly. Tilder, L., and Blostein, B. 2009. Design Ecologies: Sustainable Potentials in Architecture. Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press. Vitra fire station- Zaha Hadid 1994. 2006. Retrieved from, http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/vitrafire/index.htm Zaha Hadid Architects - MAXXI - National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome, 2009. Retrieved from http://www.archinnovations.com/featured-projects/museums/zaha-hadid-architects-maxxi-national-museum-of-xxi-century-arts-in-rome/ Read More