5 ms·

This is insanely sad. This brilliant woman had so much left to share with us. Zaha was given the title of "starchitect" for good reason -- and unlike so many pe

by numair 11y ago

This is insanely sad. This brilliant woman had so much left to share with us. Zaha was given the title of "starchitect" for good reason -- and unlike so many people attempting next-generation forms in architecture, her work actually got built. Since this still means something in the early 21st Century, it was also always quite inspiring to see an assertive Arab woman at the top of a highly competitive, male-dominated technical field. This woman was pure alpha. She played to win. And she usually won. Please, everyone, take care of your health. Without it, you have nothing. To understand more about Zaha and her brilliance, check out this excellent issue of Abitare, in which they trailed her for several months. I think there's a free iPad version of the full issue somewhere as well: http://www.abitare.it/en/research/2011/04/06/being-zaha-hadid-2/ http://www.abitare.it/en/research/2011/04/06/being-zaha-hadi...

nailer 11y ago
> unlike so many people attempting next-generation forms in architecture, her work actually got built. Not for a while: people used that same criticism against her for a decade. From the other thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11397904 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11397904
- numair 11y ago
  That was part of her alpha-ness: she actually got her stuff pushed through and built. The sort of personality necessary for accomplishing such a feat is so incredibly rare -- just think of how difficult it is to get people to adopt a new programming language or something, and multiply the inertia by 1000... She really pushed society forward in terms of the boundaries of what could be a real-world built form.
  - gadders 11y ago
    For a contrasting view: http://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/08/the-heckler-architecture-would-be-better-off-without-zaha-hadid/ http://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/08/the-heckler-architecture-...
eternalban 11y ago
Sad indeed. A math geek, no less. I remember back in early 90s & her quite beautiful drawings and she was influential. (Context is Tschumi's Decon reign at GSAP).
- brenschluss 11y ago
  Were you there at GSAP(P) at the time?
  - eternalban 11y ago
    Yes. 1990. [MArch]
    - brenschluss 11y ago
      Ah, I was '13 MArch, during the later part of Wigley's reign. Sounds like you were right there during the paperless studios? (Somehow I feel like the intersection of GSAP(P) MArchs and Hacker News is a very small set. Any chance you'd be willing to say hello over email?)
      - eternalban 11y ago
        Sorry for delay in response. I was there 90-93. The paperless studio -- ironic in context of OP and mention of "parametric design" -- started at the tail end, when the CAD approach was changed from one based on computational geometry (but sadly only exposed as a turtle type language) to use of Softimage. And let me take this opportunity to publicly, and for the historic record, shame Ken Kaplan, who grabbed and threw my SGI [Open]GL manuals across the aisle in the studio while making dismissive remarks regarding "computers" typical of the small minded men of questionable character. > the intersection I'm surprised you're here! :) If you wish to put an email in your profile I will follow up.
        brenschluss 11y ago
        Sorry for the delay in my response! I just put an email in my profile - didn't realize it wasn't showing up. Ah. I still see brief remnants of attitudes that consider 'computation' to be somehow opposite to design, and am simply grateful that I don't have to take part in that discussion anymore.
gadders 11y ago
Did it really all get built? I listened to her on Desert Island Discs recently [1] and it seemed that quite a few of her designs won competitions but then got cancelled. [1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0713rtr http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0713rtr
- leonroy 11y ago
  Of course not _all_, but then the hit rate is pretty low in any industry which relies on some sort of artistic merit. I recall an Apple 'meet the filmmaker' event with Noel Clarke about his latest film. I asked him what he saw as an essential attribute for a filmmaker to cultivate. He mentioned that for every project which hit the screen he had literally a dozen which didn't. A thick skin and not giving up were essential in his opinion for being a successful filmmaker. He was incredibly intense in his reply. He then yelled at me "don't you never quit trying man, ok?" I think that tenacity is what separates a lot of top businessmen, architects and artists from the rest. For every success which gets out there there are many attempts along the way side.

by numair 11y ago

nailer 11y ago

> unlike so many people attempting next-generation forms in architecture, her work actually got built. Not for a while: people used that same criticism against her for a decade. From the other thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11397904 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11397904

numair 11y ago
That was part of her alpha-ness: she actually got her stuff pushed through and built. The sort of personality necessary for accomplishing such a feat is so incredibly rare -- just think of how difficult it is to get people to adopt a new programming language or something, and multiply the inertia by 1000... She really pushed society forward in terms of the boundaries of what could be a real-world built form.
- gadders 11y ago
  For a contrasting view: http://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/08/the-heckler-architecture-would-be-better-off-without-zaha-hadid/ http://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/08/the-heckler-architecture-...

eternalban 11y ago

Sad indeed. A math geek, no less. I remember back in early 90s & her quite beautiful drawings and she was influential. (Context is Tschumi's Decon reign at GSAP).

brenschluss 11y ago
Were you there at GSAP(P) at the time?
- eternalban 11y ago
  Yes. 1990. [MArch]
  - brenschluss 11y ago
    Ah, I was '13 MArch, during the later part of Wigley's reign. Sounds like you were right there during the paperless studios? (Somehow I feel like the intersection of GSAP(P) MArchs and Hacker News is a very small set. Any chance you'd be willing to say hello over email?)
    - eternalban 11y ago
      Sorry for delay in response. I was there 90-93. The paperless studio -- ironic in context of OP and mention of "parametric design" -- started at the tail end, when the CAD approach was changed from one based on computational geometry (but sadly only exposed as a turtle type language) to use of Softimage. And let me take this opportunity to publicly, and for the historic record, shame Ken Kaplan, who grabbed and threw my SGI [Open]GL manuals across the aisle in the studio while making dismissive remarks regarding "computers" typical of the small minded men of questionable character. > the intersection I'm surprised you're here! :) If you wish to put an email in your profile I will follow up.
      - brenschluss 11y ago
        Sorry for the delay in my response! I just put an email in my profile - didn't realize it wasn't showing up. Ah. I still see brief remnants of attitudes that consider 'computation' to be somehow opposite to design, and am simply grateful that I don't have to take part in that discussion anymore.

gadders 11y ago

Did it really all get built? I listened to her on Desert Island Discs recently [1] and it seemed that quite a few of her designs won competitions but then got cancelled. [1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0713rtr http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0713rtr

leonroy 11y ago
Of course not _all_, but then the hit rate is pretty low in any industry which relies on some sort of artistic merit. I recall an Apple 'meet the filmmaker' event with Noel Clarke about his latest film. I asked him what he saw as an essential attribute for a filmmaker to cultivate. He mentioned that for every project which hit the screen he had literally a dozen which didn't. A thick skin and not giving up were essential in his opinion for being a successful filmmaker. He was incredibly intense in his reply. He then yelled at me "don't you never quit trying man, ok?" I think that tenacity is what separates a lot of top businessmen, architects and artists from the rest. For every success which gets out there there are many attempts along the way side.