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

| Apr 5, 2011

Top 10 Buildings: Women in Architecture

Making selections of top buildings this week led to a surprising discovery about the representation of women in architecture, writes Tom Mallory, COO and co-founder, OpenBuildings.com. He discovered that finding female-created architecture, when excluding husband/wife teams, is extremely difficult and often the only work he came across was akin to interior design.

| Apr 5, 2011

What do Chengdu, Lagos, and Chicago have in common?

They’re all “world middleweight cities” that are likely to become regional megacities (10 million people) by 2025—along with Dongguan, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Wuhan (China); Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo); Jakarta (Indonesia); Lahore (Pakistan); and Chennai (India), according to a new report from McKinsey Global Institute: “Urban World: Mapping the economic power of cities”.

| Mar 30, 2011

China's low-carbon future city

In 2005, the Chinese government announced its target to reduce energy consumption per GDP unit by 20% by the year 2010. After a multi-billion investment, that target has been reached. The Chinese Climate Protection Program’s goal to increase energy efficiency, develop renewable energies, and promote energy savings while reducing pollutant emissions and strengthening environmental protection is reflected in the “Future City” by SBA Design.

| Mar 30, 2011

Is the AEC industry at risk of losing its next generation leaders without better mentoring?

After two or three horrifying years for the AEC industry, we are finally seeing the makings of a turnaround. However, data developed by Kermit Baker as part of the AIA Work-on-the-Boards survey program indicates that between 17% and 22% of design firms are eliminating positions for interns and staff with less than six years of experience. This data suggests the industry is at risk of losing a large segment of its next generation of leaders if something isn't done to improve mentoring across the profession.

| Mar 29, 2011

City's design, transit system can ease gas costs

Some cities in the U.S. are better positioned to deal with rising gas prices than others because of their design and transit systems, according to CEOs for Cities, a Chicago-based nonprofit that works to build stronger cities. The key factor: whether residents have to drive everywhere, or have other options.

| Mar 29, 2011

Chicago’s Willis Tower to become a vertical solar farm

Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) is set to become a massive solar electric plant with the installation of a pilot solar electric glass project.

| Mar 29, 2011

Read up on Amazon.com's new green HQ

Phase IV of Amazon’s new headquarters in Seattle is nearly complete. The company has built 10 of the 11 buildings planned for its new campus in the South Lake Union neighborhood, and is on-track for a 2013 grand opening.

| Mar 29, 2011

Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura wins Pritzker Architecture Prize

Portugese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, whose precisely-honed buildings reflect the influence of the late Chicago modernist Mies van der Rohe, is the 2011 winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the field's highest honor.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Retail Centers

Thinking outside the big box (store)

For over a decade now, the talk of the mall industry has been largely focused on what developers can do to fill the voids left by a steady number of big box store closures. But what do you do when big box tenants stay put?


Government Buildings

OSHA’s proposed heat standard published in Federal Register

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a proposed standard addressing heat illness in outdoor and indoor settings in the Federal Register. The proposed rule would require employers to evaluate workplaces and implement controls to mitigate exposure to heat through engineering and administrative controls, training, effective communication, and other measures.


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