Read as article
Zaha Hadid's London HQ Reopens as Public Arts Space
By @sharedot · · 6 pages
- Style
- Architecture
- Design
- Zaha Hadid
The Zaha Hadid Foundation will open the architect's former Clerkenwell headquarters to the public this month on the tenth anniversary of her death.
What happened: a Victorian schoolhouse becomes a cultural hub
The Zaha Hadid Foundation has transformed the late architect's former headquarters at 10 Bowling Green Lane in Clerkenwell into a public cultural space for architecture, design and the related arts. The building is a Grade II-listed Victorian schoolhouse dating from the early 1870s, which had served as Hadid's offices. Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore reports the refurbished space will include galleries, a learning space, a lecture hall and a collection display, hosting exhibitions, talks, workshops and creative residencies.
Why it matters: Hadid's archive opens to wider audiences
Rana Hadid, chair of the foundation's trustees, said in a statement quoted by Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore that it was Zaha's wish for the foundation to preserve her legacy while carrying her ideas forward — advancing education, supporting future generations and contributing to the wider field of architecture. She described the archive at the heart of the mission as a profound record of Hadid's work, imagination and intellectual life, and said this next step will safeguard it and open it to wider audiences for learning, scholarship and creative discovery.
The evidence: renovation details that echo Hadid's hand
According to Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore, the renovation was led by Katherine Nolan and Alex Butterworth of London-based Studio KA, who restored some of the building's original features, added new flooring and took finishing-touch hints from Hadid's paintings. The outlet reports that the memory of Hadid is kept alive in nuanced details such as Z-shaped door pulls and shard-like flooring insets that the Iraqi-British architect incorporated herself. Aric Chen, director of the foundation, called the project the site's next evolution, where Hadid's legacy will live on through programs and exhibitions drawn from her archive and through engagement with architectural culture today.
What comes next: an opening and a first exhibition
Per Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore, the space opens to the press and private viewings on October 29, followed by the public opening on November 3. A new exhibition titled "Zaha Hadid: Architecture of Performance," curated by Catherine Howe and Libby Sellers, will inaugurate the location. Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore says the show celebrates the stage and set designs Hadid imagined for contemporary dance, classical opera and pop music — a fitting first act for a space meant to carry her forward-looking ethos into architectural culture today.