flexiblefullpage
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.
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

Related Stories

Mass Timber | Jan 27, 2023

How to set up your next mass timber construction project for success

XL Construction co-founder Dave Beck shares important preconstruction steps for designing and building mass timber buildings.

Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jan 26, 2023

Miami’s motorsport ‘country club’ to build sleek events center

Designed by renowned Italian design firm Pininfarina and with Revuelta as architect, The Event Campus at The Concours Club will be the first and only motorsport-based event campus located within minutes of a major metro area.

Student Housing | Jan 26, 2023

6 ways 'choice architecture' enhances student well-being in residence halls

The environments we build and inhabit shape our lives and the choices we make. NAC Architecture's Lauren Scranton shares six strategies for enhancing well-being in residence halls.

K-12 Schools | Jan 25, 2023

As gun incidents grow, schools have beefed up security significantly in recent years

Recently released federal data shows that U.S. schools have significantly raised security measures in recent years. About two-thirds of public schools now control access to school grounds—not just the building—up from about half in the 2017-18 school year. 

AEC Tech Innovation | Jan 24, 2023

ConTech investment weathered last year’s shaky economy

Investment in construction technology (ConTech) hit $5.38 billion last year (less than a 1% falloff compared to 2021) from 228 deals, according to CEMEX Ventures’ estimates. The firm announced its top 50 construction technology startups of 2023.

Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jan 24, 2023

Nashville boasts the largest soccer-specific stadium in the U.S. and Canada 

At 30,105 seats and 530,000 sf, GEODIS Park, which opened in 2022, is the largest soccer-specific stadium in the U.S. and Canada. Created by design firms Populous and HASTINGS in collaboration with the Metro Nashville Sports Authority, GEODIS Park serves as the home of the Nashville Soccer Club as well as a venue for performances and events.

Concrete | Jan 24, 2023

Researchers investigate ancient Roman concrete to make durable, lower carbon mortar

Researchers have turned to an ancient Roman concrete recipe to develop more durable concrete that lasts for centuries and can potentially reduce the carbon impact of the built environment.

Architects | Jan 23, 2023

PSMJ report: The fed’s wrecking ball is hitting the private construction sector

Inflation may be starting to show some signs of cooling, but the Fed isn’t backing down anytime soon and the impact is becoming more noticeable in the architecture, engineering, and construction (A/E/C) space. The overall A/E/C outlook continues a downward trend and this is driven largely by the freefall happening in key private-sector markets.

Multifamily Housing | Jan 23, 2023

Long Beach, Calif., office tower converted to market rate multifamily housing

A project to convert an underperforming mid-century office tower in Long Beach, Calif., created badly needed market rate housing with a significantly lowered carbon footprint. The adaptive reuse project, composed of 203,177 sf including parking, created 106 apartment units out of a Class B office building that had been vacant for about 10 years.

Hotel Facilities | Jan 23, 2023

U.S. hotel construction pipeline up 14% to close out 2022

At the end of 2022’s fourth quarter, the U.S. construction pipeline was up 14% by projects and 12% by rooms year-over-year, according to Lodging Econometrics.

boombox1
boombox2
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