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CRYSTAL MOTION AND ARCHITECTURE

Star architect Zaha Hadid describes her unique design philosophy with a black crystal composition

The sparkle and cut of crystal and precious stones have a strong influence on modern design and architecture as similar projects become more and more sophisticated. Architectural master projects like the Abu Dhabi Preforming Arts Center, designed by Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher show an organic design with a natural and biological inspiration like leaves, branches, stems, and fruits that meet the geometrical facets of a precious cut stone.

16,000 Swarovski crystal stones adorn “The Swarm Chandelier” What does concrete and crystal have in common?- Actually not a lot! But architect Zaha Hadid manages to work impeccably with both materials. For her, crystal is a source of inspiration because its fragility and brilliant components make the use of harsher, more traditional materials like concrete so much more interesting. In a special design by Zaha Hadid Architects for Established & Sons; “The Swarm Chandelier” gives a continued sense of motion that is so often characterized in the work of Hadid. The limited edition chandelier is made of 16,000 black Swarovski crystals that create drifting volumes with the highest degree of complexity. Dynamic, rather than static – like a controlled explosion, the black crystal arrangements express what can happen to concrete, when Zaha Hadid takes care of it!

Dreams of deconstruction When you enter one of the Iraqi-British architect’s buildings you will undoubtedly be stunned by her de constructive and unique style – regardless of whether you like it or not. In the Phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg that opened 2005 for example, every visitor gets an introduction to the architecture of the building. In the initial moments of the tour, guests are encouraged to feel the walls made of especially developed concrete, and one is sure to acquire a new found appreciation for the building that first appeared like a strange UFO in the Volkswagen City. The projects of Zaha Hadid derive from unconventional sources of inspiration and usually mirror the following sequence: First comes the complexity of the visual part and the strong conceptual idea, and then the difficulty to comply with statical and technical standards follows. This is the reason why some of her award winning projects have never been constructed and will remain a visionary dream.

Zaha Hadid: Honoured worldwide Zaha Hadid’s influential and groundbreaking designs are today built all around the world; from an opera house in China, a museum in Rome to a skyscraper in Dubai ( – and they are not only financed by German automobile brands like VW and BMW). In 2004 Hadid became the first female recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Last year, The Guggenheim Museum in New York honored Zaha Hadid with a retrospective exhibition and this year the London Design Museum held a major exhibition of her work, including limited edition projects for Established & Sons, such as the Swarm chandelier.

Katharina Kowalewski

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