The latest edition of “Architizer: The World’s Best Architecture” — a stunning, hardbound book celebrating the most inspiring contemporary architecture from around the globe — is now available. Order your copy today.
Architecture often lives substantially longer than its architect. That’s the beauty of designing the built environment. But an architect’s legacy doesn’t solely manifest through the standing structures erected in their lifetime; their sketches, renderings, models and products play a large part in defining their history, as well.
Case in point, numerous designs are still coming straight from the mind of the late Zaha Hadid. Beyond numerous buildings standing in many corners around the world, her legacy also lives on through her elegant product design. Indeed, Hadid translated her iconic, fluid and geometric style to meticulously crafted smaller-scale — yet equally sophisticated — objects.
“My product designs and architecture have always been connected. Some of our earlier projects were designs for products and interiors,” Hadid explained during her Guggenheim Museum retrospective exhibition in 2006. “They inspired our creativity by providing an opportunity to express our ideas through different scales and through different media; an essential part of our ongoing design investigation.”
Throughout her career, Hadid collaborated with world-renowned brands to create one-off and limited-edition product pieces in collaboration with names such as Lalique, David Gill, Sawaya and Moroni, ROVE, Wiener Silber and Citco.
Here’s a look at 13 architecturally significant product pieces from Zaha Hadid Design.:
Aqua Platter Set
The Aqua Platter conveys fluid rhythms inspired by the undulating wave created for the London 2012 Olympic Aquatics Centre. The weight of this piece is distributed across three curvilinear points — each infused with either lime or fuchsia. The Aqua Platters are made from solid acrylic and finished by hand. These are limited edition pieces with only 200 in existence.
Braid Double Candle Holder
Each design for the Braid Candle Holder Collection winds and twists into an integrated braid structure, creating a vertical transition that unites sharp directional lines. The double candle holder is the latest piece for the collection and produced in resin as a limited edition item of 200.
Duo Salt & Pepper Grinder
The Duo salt and pepper grinders feature polished stainless steel that spirals around a ceramic internal grinder. The two pieces interplay as they nest each other’s curves.
Serenity Vase
The Serenity Vase is a stainless steel structure made to stand out as a table’s centerpiece. The rippling rim reveals a feeling of refinement as well as edge. The piece is available in small and large sizes.
Serenity Platter
The billowing surface of the Serenity Platter communicates a sense of movement and dynamism. The platter is made of highly reflective stainless steel and is available in steel, gold or black colors.
Icon Mug Collection
The Icon Mug Collection showcases four distinct designs inspired by Zaha Hadid’s most celebrated architectural achievements: Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in London, Riverside Museum in Glasgow and the London Aquatics Centre. These fine bone china mugs are also made as a series of teacups and saucers.
Fontana Bowl for Lalique
This translucent mineral bowl also expresses the power of water through its design. Its texture is inspired by the continuity and rhythms of small waves in motion. The piece is available in plain crystal, black and midnight blue and is part of the Zaha Hadid Crystal Architecture collection.
Visio and Manifesto for Lalique
Also from the Crystal Architecture collection, Vision and Manifesto feature sheer surfaces and sensuous curves that make these vases both contemporary and timeless. They feature a satin finish in midnight blue, black or plain crystal.
Leia Table for Leblon Delienne
The Leia Table was inspired by the spiraling form of Princess Leia’s iconic hairstyle in “Star Wars.” For the 40th anniversary year of the film, Leblon Delienne and Zaha Hadid Design partnered to reinterpret the twisting design of her hair within the flat planar surface of the table. The result is a protruding curve within the level design that seamlessly raises the dimensionality of the product.
Liquid Glacial Stools for David Gill Gallery
Liquid Glacial is a collection of tables, chairs, stools and a centerpiece, which mimic the geometry of ice formations. The reflected lines underneath each furniture piece reveal the fluid motion of the design within. All pieces are milled and hand-polished, made from clear as well as colored acrylic material.
Orchis Seating
The Orchis stools act as functional sculptures. With no distinct inner or outer edge, the curved surfaces twist and bend to form a seat. Each stool can fit up to three people. As outdoor seating, the stools can combine to form a single object.
Field of Towers Chess Set
The individual towers on this elegant chess set articulate the architectural process of Zaha Hadid’s practice. Each piece reveals the different points of adaption and potential iterations explored for a project. Together, the pieces form a map of Hadid’s intense research and evolutionary design methodology.
Aria Lamp
The Aria Lamp is a suspended chandelier that gently illuminates a room with light cast through its sculptural fins. The piece provides an air of luxury and movement to any space. The Aria Lamp is also available in black.
Images courtesy of Zaha Hadid Design
The latest edition of “Architizer: The World’s Best Architecture” — a stunning, hardbound book celebrating the most inspiring contemporary architecture from around the globe — is now available. Order your copy today.