flexiblefullpage

HORIZONTV FEATURING BD+C: WATCH EPISODES ON DEMAND AT HORIZONTV

Menu View Full Menu
Subscribe Here
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Zaha Hadid's flowing Heydar Aliyev Center named Design of the Year for 2014

Zaha Hadid's flowing Heydar Aliyev Center named Design of the Year for 2014

The cultural center is the first architectural project to win the Design Museum's top prize. 

By BD+C Staff | July 1, 2014
Photo credit: Iwan Baan. Photos courtesy of Design Museum.
Photo credit: Iwan Baan. Photos courtesy of Design Museum.
Continue Reading
The Design Museum's Design of the Year Award for 2014 has been awarded to Zaha Hadid's Heydar Aliyev Center. Hadid is not only the first woman to win the top prize, but the center is the first architectural project to win the overall competition. 
 
The building, full of undulating curves and large glass windows to let in lots of natural light, is located in Baku, Azerbaijan. It serves as the primary building for many of the nation's cultural programs. 
 
"We’re absolutely delighted to receive the Design of the Year Award. The surface of the Heydar Aliyev Centre’s external plaza rises and folds to define a sequence of public event spaces within; welcoming, embracing and directing visitors throughout the building," said Hadid. "It’s an architectural landscape where concepts of seamless spatial flow are made real – creating a whole new kind of civic space for the city."
 
The Design of the Year prize was awarded by a panel of experts; over 70 designs were nominated across all categories (Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics, Product and Transport). All nominated designs will be displayed in an exhibition at the Design Museum until August 25.
 
There was another first among the winners this year: Phonebloks, designed by Dave Hakkens, won the first Social Vote, which allowed the global public to vote on all of the design entries and choose their own winner. Phonebloks is a design project meant to encourage the mobile phone industry to cut electronic waste out of their designs and make a more lasting product.  
 
 
A few of the judges on why they chose the Heydar Aliyev Center:
 
Kim Colin, Industrial Facility said: ‘A great architect needs a great client, technology, the public, the landscape and the right time. The jury felt that for Zaha's office, this is a pinnacle moment in their portfolio, a sign of international maturity. The jury argued heatedly for and against, and then we finally agreed unanimously that the project deserves our utmost respect. This architecture should make us talk for years to come.’
 
Photo Credit: Iwan Baan; photos courtesy Design Museum
 
 
 
Ben Terrett, Government Digital Service said: ‘It's a stunning, iconic building. One thing that struck me was how it really feels like the swooping curves are the structure. Too often with this type of design it's a facade of something interesting put on top of the usual box. This is different.’
 
Photo Credit: Iwan Baan; photos courtesy Design Museum
 
 
 
Nick Perry, Head of London, Bird & Bird said: ‘This is a truly remarkable piece of architecture. Designs of the Year exists to find and celebrate work such as this, and the breadth and depth of work which has been celebrated is testament to the diverse nature of design. Innovation and design are of huge importance to business, and all of the individuals involved have demonstrated exceptional insight and skill. We are thrilled to have been involved in supporting Designs of the Year this year.’
 
Photo Credit: Iwan Baan; photos courtesy Design Museum
 
 
Project Credits:
 
Architect:
Zaha Hadid Architects
 
Design:
Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher
with Saffet Kaya Bekiroglu
 
Project Architect:
Saffet Kaya Bekiroglu
 
Project Team:
Sara Sheikh Akbari, Shiqi Li, Phil Soo Kim, Marc Boles, Yelda Gin, Liat Muller, Deniz Manisali, Lillie Liu, Jose Lemos, Simone Fuchs, Jose Ramon Tramoyeres, Yu Du, Tahmina Parvin, Erhan Patat, Fadi Mansour, Jaime Bartolome, Josef Glas, Michael Grau, Deepti Zachariah, Ceyhun Baskin, Daniel Widrig
 
Special thanks to Charles Walker

Tags

Related Stories

Nation's largest Passive House senior living facility completed in Portland, Ore. Photo courtesy LRS Architects
Senior Living Design | Apr 24, 2024

Nation's largest Passive House senior living facility completed in Portland, Ore.

Construction of Parkview, a high-rise expansion of a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) in Portland, Ore., completed recently. The senior living facility is touted as the largest Passive House structure on the West Coast, and the largest Passive House senior living building in the country.

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay
Hotel Facilities | Apr 24, 2024

The U.S. hotel construction market sees record highs in the first quarter of 2024

As seen in the Q1 2024 U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), at the end of the first quarter, there are 6,065 projects with 702,990 rooms in the pipeline. This new all-time high represents a 9% year-over-year (YOY) increase in projects and a 7% YOY increase in rooms compared to last year.

Shepley Bulfinch appoints new Board of Director: Evelyn Lee, FAIA
Architects | Apr 24, 2024

Shepley Bulfinch appoints new Board of Director: Evelyn Lee, FAIA

Shepley Bulfinch, a national architecture firm announced the appointment of new Board of Director member Evelyn Lee, FAIA as an outside director. With this new appointment, Lucia Quinn has stepped down from the firm’s Board, after serving many years as an outside board advisor and then as an outside director. 

ProConnect Multifamily Dallas 2023 - Assa Abloy
ProConnect Events | Apr 23, 2024

5 more ProConnect events scheduled for 2024, including all-new 'AEC Giants'

SGC Horizon present 7 ProConnect events in 2024.

Enter today! BD+C's 75 Top Building Products for 2024
75 Top Building Products | Apr 22, 2024

Enter today! BD+C's 75 Top Building Products for 2024

BD+C editors are now accepting submissions for the annual 75 Top Building Products awards. The winners will be featured in the November/December 2024 issue of Building Design+Construction. 

Science lab
Laboratories | Apr 22, 2024

Why lab designers should aim to ‘speak the language’ of scientists

Learning more about the scientific work being done in the lab gives designers of those spaces an edge, according to Adrian Walters, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Principal and Director of SMMA's Science & Technology team.

Photo by NASA on Unsplash
Resiliency | Apr 22, 2024

Controversy erupts in Florida over how homes are being rebuilt after Hurricane Ian

The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently sent a letter to officials in Lee County, Florida alleging that hundreds of homes were rebuilt in violation of the agency’s rules following Hurricane Ian. The letter provoked a sharp backlash as homeowners struggle to rebuild following the devastating 2022 storm that destroyed a large swath of the county.

Image by antmoreton from Pixabay
Mass Timber | Apr 22, 2024

British Columbia changing building code to allow mass timber structures of up to 18 stories

The Canadian Province of British Columbia is updating its building code to expand the use of mass timber in building construction. The code will allow for encapsulated mass-timber construction (EMTC) buildings as tall as 18 stories for residential and office buildings, an increase from the previous 12-story limit. 

Image by Christopher Amend from Pixabay
Standards | Apr 22, 2024

Design guide offers details on rain loads and ponding on roofs

The American Institute of Steel Construction and the Steel Joist Institute recently released a comprehensive roof design guide addressing rain loads and ponding. Design Guide 40, Rain Loads and Ponding provides guidance for designing roof systems to avoid or resist water accumulation and any resulting instability.

Image by Wolfgang Borchers from Pixabay
Building Materials | Apr 22, 2024

Tacoma, Wash., investigating policy to reuse and recycle building materials

Tacoma, Wash., recently initiated a study to find ways to increase building material reuse through deconstruction and salvage. The city council unanimously voted to direct the city manager to investigate deconstruction options and estimate costs. 

boombox1
boombox2

Top Articles

native1

More In Category

Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.

Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021