Zaha Hadid: Visionary Museum Designs

This major exhibition will explore the work of Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid (1950–2016).

Hadid began her own practice in London in 1980, and during her lifetime she was widely regarded as a major figure in twentieth- and twenty-first-century architecture, becoming the first woman architect to be awarded the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 2004 and the first to be individually awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in 2016.

With major loans from the London-based Zaha Hadid Foundation, this exhibition will explore Hadid’s work through the lens of the many museum’s she worked on throughout her career, including celebrated projects such as the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati, USA (1997–2003); Phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg, Germany (2000–05); and MAXXI: National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome, Italy (1998–2010). The exhibition will showcase the diverse ways in which Hadid and her office represented and developed their ideas, from shallow paper reliefs and vivid acrylic paintings to inventive architectural models. Together, these works reveal how Hadid conceived and visualised the dynamic forms, bold volumes and visionary spatial ideas for which she became known throughout her illustrious career. It is particularly fitting that Hadid’s museum projects will be showcased in Sir John Soane’s own Museum, which he conceived as a space for inspiration, education and the exploration of architecture and art.

Banner image: Zaha Hadid Architects, CAC: Contemporary Arts Center, Jelly bean volumetric study, Cincinnati, USA, 2001 © Zaha Hadid Foundation