Zaha Hadid
Piyush Jalan
Biography
 BIRTH:
ZAHA HADID was born in Bagdad (1950).
 EDUCATION:
Trained Maths at the American university of Beirut (1968 - 1971)
studied architecture at the architectural association school (AA)
in London, UK (1972 - 1977)
 PRACTISE:
Joined OMA (office of metropolitan architecture) and became a
partner (1977).Own practice 'ZAHA HADID office' (from 1980).
Childhood
 Zaha Hadid was raised in a liberal, open-minded family
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which allowed her to explore new ways of doing things and
think critically.
She was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1950 to aristocratic parents.
Hadid's father played an important role in her creative
development.
He exposed her to many different cultures while always
stressing the importance of her heritage.
He demonstrated this through his studies at the London
School of Economics and participation in the fight for Iraqi
independence from foreign occupation.
His progressive views on the industrialization of Iraq, housing
issues, and the nationalization of the oil production
influenced Zaha in her views of the world.
Hadid’s childhood experiences encouraged a belief in open
communication between different groups of people, but also
a strong conviction in Iraqi independence.
EDUCATION
 Hadid's elementary education in England and Switzerland exposed
her to many different cultures.
 She attended school with Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Islamic
girls.
 This is the first indication of marginality in her life. She felt
distanced from her Muslim heritage at the school because of its
Christian educational style.
"I NEVER HAD A TRADITIONAL EDUCATION AS A
MUSLIM. IN THE ARAB WORLD, ISLAMIC CULTURE
AND ARAB CULTURE ARE THE SAME. IT'S A CULTURAL
SITUATION, NOT A RELIGIOUS SITUATION." (HADID
1995)
 This dissension between Arab and Western influences reoccurred
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as she developed her architectural style.
Hadid first became interested in architecture at age eleven,
although she pursued other interests before attending architecture
school.
A friend of the family was designing a home for Hadid's aunt and
would bring the models by and show Zaha.
Her mother and father increased her interest by taking her to
architectural exhibitions.
Before pursuing higher education in architecture, Hadid studied
mathematics at the American University in Beirut in 1968.
The field of modern mathematics and the relationship between
philosophy, physics and math interested her briefly before studied
architecture. (Hadid 1995)
CONCEPT
 "GRAVITY-DEFYING",
 "FRAGMENTARY"
 "REVOLUTIONARY"
A MAIN THEME OF HADID'S DESIGNS EXHIBITS THAT A
BUILDING CAN FLOAT AND DEFY GRAVITY.
MAXXI, ROME
 MAXXI stands for ‘Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI
secolo’ (National Museum of 21st Century Art).
 The museum will become the joint home of the MAXXI Arts
and MAXXI Architecture and Italy’s first national museum
solely dedicated to contemporary arts.
 Zaha Hadid architects, out of 273 candidates, won the
architectural competition to design the building in 1998 with
a design that responds to the form and arrangement of
existing industrial buildings on the site. The program offers a
flexible, interdisciplinary arena for the exhibition of
contemporary art and architecture and for live events.
MAXII, ROME
 It acts as a tie between the geometrical elements already present
 It is built on the site of old army barracks between the river
tiber and via guido reni, the centre is made up of spaces that
flow freely and unexpectedly between interior and exterior,
where walls twist to become floors or ceilings.
 The building absorbs the landscape structures, dynamizes them
and gives them back to the urban environment.
 Hadid's architecture can thus be understood as an intensification of
the surrounding space.
'a scene for thought, with art as a player on the cene' says hadid.
Zaha Hadid
 Zaha Hadid stated: "I see the MAXXI as an immersive urban
environment for the exchange of ideas, feeding the cultural
vitality of the city. It's no longer just a museum, but an
urban cultural centre where a dense texture of interior and
exterior spaces have been intertwined and superimposed
over one another. It's an intriguing mixture of galleries,
irrigating a large urban field with linear display surfaces".
The architecture of MAXXI
Two principle architectural elements characterize the project:
 the concrete walls that define the exhibition galleries and
determine the interweaving of volumes;
 and the transparent roof that modulates natural light. The
roofing system complies with the highest standards required
for museums and is composed of integrated frames and
louvers with devices for filtering sunlight, artificial light and
environmental control.
Galleries, Walkway and Materials
 Located around a large full height space which gives access to
the galleries dedicated to permanent collections and
temporary exhibitions, the auditorium, reception services,
cafeteria and bookshop.
 Outside, a pedestrian walkway follows the outline of the
building, restoring an urban link that has been blocked for
almost a century by the former military barracks in Rome.
 Materials such as glass (roof), steel (stairs) and cement
(walls) give the exhibition spaces a neutral appearance, whilst
mobile panels enable curatorial flexibility and variety.
Sinuous shape
 The fluid and sinuous shapes, the variety and interweaving of
spaces and the modulated use of natural light lead to a spatial
and functional framework of great complexity, offering
constantly changing and unexpected views from within the
building and outdoor spaces.
PROJECT NUMBERS
Total site area: 29,000 m2 / Exterior spaces: 19,640 m2 /
Interior spaces: 21,200 m2 / Display space: 10.000 m2 /
Services (auditorium, library-video library, cafeteria, restaurant,
etc.): 6,000 m2 / MAXXI Arts: 4.077 m2 / MAXXI
Architecture: 1,935 m2 / Total volume: 113,000 m3 / Maximum
height: 22.90 m / Demolitions of existing structures: 100,000
m3 / Structural steel: 6,000,000 kg / Steel roof trusses: 700,000
kg / Site poured structural concrete: 50,000 m3 / Formwork
area: 40,000 m2 of which 20,000 m2 exposed / Area of glass
skylights: 2,600 m2 / Number of people employed by the
MAXXI: an average of 100 people per day (technicians and
labourers) for 1,500 days / Hours of construction time:
1,250,000 / Project cost: 150 million Euro / Visitor forecast:
between 200 and 400 thousand per year.