Pritzker Prize

The Complete Works of Zaha Hadid

Filed under: Books

Architect Zaha Hadid, the first woman to receive the coveted Pritzker Prize (in 2004), is celebrated in a new book from Rizzoli titled Zaha Hadid: Complete Works. Hadid's designs are a "fusion of a Western modernist education and Middle Eastern art", as described in the introduction by Aaron Betsky, Director of the Cincinnati Art Museum: "...the intricate patterns that defeated comprehension and embodied the collaborative efforts of hands transforming reality into a sensuous surface, simple spaces into lush ones." The book encompasses Hadid's architectural designs as well as furniture, interiors, sculptures and objects such as bowls and jewelry. Included are her most recent commissions, such as the Guggenheim-Hermitage Museum in Lithuania and the Aquatics Centre for the 2012 London Olympics, as well as her most renowned works, including as the Vitra Fire Station in Germany and the Lois and Richard Lowenthal Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati.

Tags: architecture, Guggenheim, Pritzker Prize, PritzkerPrize, Zaha Hadid, ZahaHadid

Swiss Hermit Wins Architecture Prize

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Peter Zumthor is now $100,000 richer, and you probably have no idea who he is. The reclusive, introverted Swiss architect won the highly coveted Pritzker Prize. Zumthor is well-known in the architecture field – revered, even – but few know of him otherwise.

At first, little on Zumthor's resume. He's built a one-room chapel in a German farm field. A public bath and a handful of museums also bear his visual signature. Of course, an interpretive center at the size of what was once Gestapo headquarters catches a bit of attention, but that's about it. His style is austere, not what usually forces its way into the headlines.

The Pritzker jury chose Zumthor largely because this isn't the best time to reward ostentation. The Swiss architect's approach, which focuses only on the essentials, is effectively calibrated to global sentiment ... and brutal fiscal reality.

Zumthor will receive his gold medallion and check at the grand Legislative Palace of the City Council on May 29, 2009 in Buenos Aires. Look for him on the red carpet ... kidding.

Source

Tags: architect, architects, architectural, architecture, argentina, buenos aires, BuenosAires, pritzker, pritzker prize, pritzkerprize, swiss

All Systems Go for Koolhaas' Prada Transformer

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Events, Art

Chanel may have just pulled the plug (as we reported last month) on its Zaha Hadid-designed Mobile Art Pavilion, but Prada is going ahead with plans for an even more ambitious project. Despite the economy, the luxury Italian fashion house just began construction on the Prada Transformer, a tetrahedron-shaped "transformative building" designed by starchitect Rem Koolhaas (rendering above), on the grounds of Gyeonghui Palace in Seoul, Korea. Koolhaas, who won the Pritzker Prize in 2000 and also designed the Prada flagship store in Manhattan, describes the building as a "dynamic and living organism'' because it transforms itself into different structures to suit various events. The location of the project, the single largest communications platform for the Prada group worldwide in 2009, speaks to the importance of the Asian market in a depressed luxury goods environment.

Scheduled to open at the end of March, the Prada Transformer will stage a range of art, cinema, culture and fashion events though August. the 65-ft. high tetrahedron is composed of four different shapes, a hexagon, cross, rectangle and circle. "Once a month, cranes will lift and rotate the structure into a different facade and floor plate configuration," the Korea Times reports. "When rotated, each side will be the venue of a different cultural program." On the outside, the entire structure will be wrapped with an elastic translucent membrane. Prada partnered with LG Electronics (makers of the Prada cell phone) and the Hyundai Motor Company on the ambitious scheme, which if successful will probably travel to other cities as well.

Tags: Architecture, Asia, Chanel, Italian fashion, ItalianFashion, Korea, Prada, Pritzker Prize, PritzkerPrize, Rem Koolhaas, RemKoolhaas, Seoul

Ltd. Edition Complete Works of Jean Nouvel

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Books

The complete works of Jean Nouvel, France's most unique and internationally celebrated contemporary architect and winner of the 2008 Pritzker Prize, are featured in a new limited edition book. Restricted to 1,000 signed and numbered copies, the two volume set (above) is packaged in a translucent plexiglass slipcase specially designed by Nouvel and priced at $700. Nouvel worked for five years together with author Philip Jodidio to assemble this monograph, published by Taschen. Each volume features 400 pages of completed projects and works in progress, such as the new Louvre in Abu Dhabi, the Philharmonie de Paris, and the extension of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. All of the book's graphic design and images were conceived and selected by the architect himself.

Gallery: Works of Jean Nouvel