Monday, February 25, 2013

zaha hadid bratislava city center


Let me say, I love Zaha Hadid. I would love to own one of her working sketches. I love the forms she creates and the way she pushes the boundaries of architecture. Most of all, I love her attitude. (Her quote, "Would they still call me a diva if I was a guy?" speaks volumes about architecture, a profession made up of divas. Almost all of them men.)

What I'm not sure I'm in love with is her work for Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Sure, it is captivating to admire, particularly in rendered form. But there is nothing human scale about it and the materiality reads as quite harsh to me, despite the ample green space. I think it is great as a museum space, and possibly as a working space, it just doesn't feel like the heart of a city to me. Scheduled to be completed in 2013, I hope the reality of the people living and working in those circular towers brings life to the amorphous space.


Images via Designboom. From Zaha Hadid Architects.   

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