London is a city with one of the highest numbers of art galleries in the world. But you can never have too many – it’s about to get one more. The studio of a British-Iraqi architect known as the ‘Queen of Curve’ for her fluid buildings will be opened to the public next month.
Ten years after award-winning designer passed away aged 65, her former studio headquarters in Clerkenwell is being transformed into a public arts space to celebrate her legacy.
Here in London, Hadid is best known for designing the wave-like London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympic Games, the Serpentine North Gallery, and a zig-zagging secondary school in Brixton, which subsequently won the coveted Stirling Prize. She left her mark all over the world: from opera houses in China to an airport in Ethiopia. They even named a street after her in Milan.
Now, Hadid’s former practice at 10 Bowling Green Lane, in a Grade II-listed Victorian building, is becoming a public art space. The HQ is being refurbished by Studio KA to house galleries and a lecture hall that will continue teaching the public about her huge contribution to architecture and the arts. It’s been redesigned with Zaha’s famous style in mind, introducing colours used in her paintings and keeping the furniture pieces and Z-shaped door pulls she created.
Zaha Hadid Foundation’s director Aric Chen told : ‘It will be where Zaha's legacy will live on both through our programmes and exhibitions drawn from her archive, and through her forward-looking ethos as we actively engage with architectural culture today.’
Opening on November 3, the first exhibition on show will explore a lesser-known side of Zaha’s artistic legacy: her experiments with stage and set designs. Curated by Libby Sellers and Catherine Howe, the exhibition will include her dynamic stage creations for the Pet Shop Boys’ Nightlife World Tour.
Other art installations across the building will include an animated timeline in the foyer of the building mapping the artist’s life and creative contributions, designed by data journalist and illustrator Mona Chalabi. The new space will be brought to life with a symposium across the Serpentine Galleries and Architectural Association to mark 10 years since she passed.
The Zaha Hadid Foundation will officially open to the public on November 3 at 10 Bowling Green Lane, Clerkenwell, London, EC1R 0BQ.
ICYMI: Daniel Craig just bought a haunted pub in Clerkenwell. Yes, really.
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