Zaha Hadid, one of the most innovative architects of the twenty-first century and the first woman to receive the renowned Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004, has advanced the language of contemporary architecture and design, exploring complex fluid geometries and using cutting-edge digital design and fabrication technologies. For Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion (September 20, 2011 to March 25, 2012), Hadid has created an all-encompassing environment to display examples of the furniture, objects, and footwear she has designed in recent years as well as the prototype for her Z-Car I.

This exhibition was the first in the USA to only feature Hadid’s product designs in a setting of her own creation. On November 19, Zaha Hadid was honoured in Philadelphia, with the Design Excellence Award given by Collab, a volunteer committee of design professionals and enthusiasts supporting the modern and contemporary design collection at the Museum.

Combining architecture and design, “Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion” displayed an environment of an undulating structure of finished polystyrene with vinyl graphics based on curvilinear geometries. Exploiting a formal language of fluid movement, Hadid’s exhibition design emphasizes the continuous nature of her work, and how the fields of architecture, urbanism, and design are closely interrelated in her practice.

Images Paul Warchol