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

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

A debate has been raging in the blogosphere over the last few months about an article in The New Republic, “If You Build It, They Might Not Come,” in which staff writer Lydia DePillis took Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation to task for botching its effort to revitalize the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.

| May 30, 2013

5 tips for running a successful BIM coordination meeting

BIM modeling tools are great, but if you can't run efficient, productive coordination meetings, the Building Team will never realize the benefits of true BIM coordination. Here are some helpful tips for making the most of coordination meetings.

| May 29, 2013

Realtors report positive trends in commercial real estate market

Realtors who practice commercial real estate have reported an increase in annual gross income for the third year in a row, signaling the market is on the road to recovery.

| May 29, 2013

6 award-winning library projects

The Anacostia Neighborhood Library in Washington, D.C., and the renovation of Cass Gilbert’s grand Beaux-Arts library in St. Louis are among six projects to be named 2013 AIA/ALA Library Building Award winners.

| May 28, 2013

LED lighting's risks and rewards

LED lighting technology provides unique advantages, but it’s also important to understand its limitations for optimized application.

| May 28, 2013

Minneapolis transit hub will double as cultural center [slideshow]

The Building Team for the Interchange project in downtown Minneapolis is employing the principles of "open transit" design to create a station that is one part transit, one part cultural icon.

| May 24, 2013

James Turrell's art installation turns Guggenheim Museum into 'skyspace'

James Turrell, an artist whose projects are more properly defined as "light sculptures," will have a major installation at the Guggenheim Museum this summer, turning Frank Lloyd Wright's famed serpentine atrium into a show of shifting colors and textures. The site-specific project, Aten Reign, will run from June 21 to September 25.

| May 24, 2013

First look: Revised plan for Amazon's Seattle HQ and 'biodome'

NBBJ has released renderings of a revised plan for Amazon's new three-block headquarters in Seattle. The proposal would replace a previously approved six-story office building with a three-unit "biodome."

Currently Reading

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

Tags

| May 31, 2013

| May 30, 2013

| May 30, 2013

| May 29, 2013

| May 29, 2013

| May 28, 2013

| May 28, 2013

| May 24, 2013

| May 24, 2013

| May 23, 2013

Most Popular Content

Magazine Subscription

Get our Newsletters

Follow BD+C: