NYC: Zaha Hadid @ Guggenheim

Zaha Hadid is a genius. The way she conceives and visualizes buildings and translates that vision into graphic, abstract paintings is breathtaking. Her current retrospective at Guggenheim Museum runs until 25 October 2006. The exhibition displays paintings, drawings, models, photographs and furniture. I always wondered why Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels (i.e. The Peninsula hotels), the developers of The Peak in Hong Kong didn't actually build her competition-winning entry. Instead, they built what I like to call the big wok by Terry Farrell. I wonder if they are regretting that decision today.

To be honest, I find it difficult understanding her paintings as representations/schematics for her buildings or urban planning projects, but they make beautiful, rhythmic, poetic works of art. In terms of her built buildings, I really liked the BMW Plant Central Building in Leipzig, which is not only a brilliantly-executed, user experience-enhancing environment, but also a successful example of social/corporate engineering through architecture. The building brings plant workers and management together. It reminds everyone working for the company what each person is working towards -- delivering quality, high-performance, luxury automobiles.

Hadid's buildings always make a statement. They are never bland or boring, conventional or safe. Instead, they aim to challenge and push the envelope. Oftentimes, the end result is quite moving. The exhibition is a great retrospective spanning 30 years of Hadid's career that has led to her being the first female architect to be awarded a Pritzker Prize in 2004. Displayed all along the Guggenheim's spiral, it makes for a great journey.