Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a key figure in architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born in Baghdad, Iraq, Hadid studied mathematics as an undergraduate and then enrolled at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in 1972. In search of an alternative system to traditional architectural drawing, and influenced by Suprematism and the Russian avant-garde, Hadid adopted painting as a design tool and abstraction as an investigative principle to "reinvestigate the aborted and untested experiments of Modernism [...] to unveil new fields of building".
The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) is an international architectural firm with offices in Rotterdam, New York, Hong Kong, Doha, and Australia. The firm is currently led by eight partners - Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van Loon, Shohei Shigematsu, Iyad Alsaka, Chris van Duijn, Jason Long, and managing partner and architect David Gianotten.
Contemporary architecture is the architecture of the 21st century. No single style is dominant. Contemporary architects work in several different styles, from postmodernism, high-tech architecture and new references and interpretations of traditional architecture to highly conceptual forms and designs, resembling sculpture on an enormous scale. Some of these styles and approaches make use of very advanced technology and modern building materials, such as tube structures which allow construction of buildings that are taller, lighter and stronger than those in the 20th century, while others prioritize the use of natural and ecological materials like stone, wood and lime. One technology that is common to all forms of contemporary architecture is the use of new techniques of computer-aided design, which allow buildings to be designed and modeled on computers in three dimensions, and constructed with more precision and speed.
The Contemporary Arts Center is a contemporary art museum in Cincinnati, Ohio and one of the first contemporary art institutions in the United States. The CAC is a non-collecting museum that focuses on new developments in painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, performance art and new media. Focusing on programming that reflects "the art of the last five minutes", the CAC has displayed the works of many now-famous artists early in their careers, including Andy Warhol. In 2003, the CAC moved to a new building designed by Zaha Hadid.
Dongdaemun Design Plaza is a major urban development landmark in Seoul, South Korea, designed by Zaha Hadid and Samoo, with a distinctively neofuturistic design characterized by the "powerful, curving forms of elongated structures." The landmark is the centerpiece of South Korea's fashion hub and popular tourist destination, Dongdaemun, featuring a walkable park on its roofs, large global exhibition spaces, futuristic retail stores, and restored parts of the Seoul fortress.
CityLife is a residential, commercial and business district situated a short distance from the old city centre of Milan, Italy; it has an area of 36.6 hectares. It is a redevelopment project on the former grounds of Fiera Milano after its relocation to the nearby town of Rho.
The Heydar Aliyev Center is a 57,500 m2 (619,000 sq ft) building complex in Baku, Azerbaijan, designed by Zaha Hadid and noted for its distinctive architecture and flowing, curved style that eschews sharp angles. The main contractor, Dia Holdings, is owned by actors that are linked to Azerbaijan's ruling Aliyev family's network of offshore companies.
Dubai Opera is a 2,000-seat, multi-format, performing arts centre located within The Opera District in Downtown Dubai. It was developed by Emaar Properties to host a variety of performances and events including theatre, opera, ballet, concerts, conferences and exhibitions. Its plans were announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in March 2012 and it was completed in 2016. It opened on 31 August 2016 with a performance by Plácido Domingo. The first season featured Bizet's The Pearl Fishers opera and tenor José Carreras. Dubai Opera has flat floor capacity of 1,800 m2 (19,000 sq ft). This floor can be hired for weddings, gala dinners, fashion shows and exhibitions. The building is created by Atkins and principal architect Janus Rostock, allows it to transform into three modes: a theatre, a music hall, and a banquet or event hall in a 'flat floor' mode.
The year 2010 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.
Zaha Hadid Architects is a British architecture and design firm founded by Zaha Hadid (1950–2016), with its main office situated in Clerkenwell, London. After the death of "starchitect" Hadid, Patrik Schumacher became head of the firm, yet had to pay for use of the former business partners name at the time with a staff of 400, mostly free labour of interns sourced from teaching positions occupied by senior staff, with 36 projects across 21 countries.
Unicorn Island is a planned development of office buildings and landscaping designed to attract and foster technology companies with valuations of more than $1 billion, "unicorns." Its area spans 67 hectares. Zaha Hadid Architects is developing the plan for the Chengdu government on the eastern shore of Xin Long Lake in Chengdu, China. Construction of the first building, a conference center, neared completion during 2020.
The year 2012 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.
Wangjing SOHO is a complex of three curvilinear asymmetric skyscrapers in Wangjing in Beijing, China, between central Beijing and Beijing Capital International Airport. The towers contain both office and retail space. Originally the SOHO was designed as a two-tower complex but due to height concerns it was redesigned as a three-tower project featuring towers of lower maximum height. One of the more than a dozen properties developed by SOHO China, the complex officially opened on 20 September 2014. The tallest of the three towers is the seventh-tallest woman-designed building in the world.
The year 2016 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.
One Thousand Museum is a high-rise residential condominium in Miami, Florida, United States. The building, which is located at 1000 Biscayne Boulevard, across from Museum Park, was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. The initial design was started by Zaha Hadid. Completed in 2019, the 62-story building stands at a height of 707 feet (215 m), making it one of the tallest buildings in Miami.
DeSimone Consulting Engineering is a structural engineering firm founded by Vincent J. DeSimone in 1969 in New York City. The firm provides structural engineering services to architects, owners and developers, and performs structural analysis and design for all types of buildings at all project phases. DeSimone also launched a Property Loss Consulting division in 2016. The company has offices in Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Foxborough, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, New Haven, New York City, San Francisco, London, Medellín, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai. DeSimone has designed over 10,000 projects in 40 states and 45 countries.
Leeza SOHO, also known as Li Ze Tower, is a 207 m (679 ft) tall commercial skyscraper located in the Lize Financial Business District in Beijing, China. SOHO China acquired land use rights in 2013 for ¥1.922 billion RMB. The construction of the building began in 2015 and it was opened on 19 November 2019, making it the third of three buildings designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and developed by SOHO China, along with Galaxy SOHO and Wangjing SOHO.
SOHO China is a Chinese building developer, primarily in the office and commercial sector, with some residential and mixed-use properties in its portfolio. The company, which uses the name "SOHO" in both English and Chinese contexts, was founded in 1995 by Chairman Pan Shiyi (潘石屹) and CEO Zhang Xin (张欣). The name SOHO comes from the phrase "Smart Office, Home Office" as the company decided to combine office rooms and residential apartments in the same building to facilitate a comfortable and productive environment.
Morpheus is a neo-futurist luxury hotel in Macau, Special administrative regions of China that is operated by Melco Resorts & Entertainment. Opened in June 2018, TIME describes it as "the world’s first free-form exoskeleton-bound high-rise: a grid of steel envelops 40 stories of glass with a fluidity inspired by Chinese jade carving." The interior has a gaming floor, a rooftop pool, a modern-art gallery, and restaurants by chefs such as Alain Ducasse. The hotel tops out at 160 meters tall.
Sky Park is a mixed-use building complex under construction in Bratislava, Slovakia. It is composed of one main residential tower which is set to reach a height of 119 metres (390 ft) tall upon its completion in 2027, four identical lower-rise residential towers measuring 105 metres (355 ft) tall, one office tower measuring 79 metres (259 ft) tall and renovated National cultural monument Jurkovič Heating Plant by famous Slovak architect Dušan Jurkovič.
