Zaha Hadid Retrospective Including Unrealized Work To Open in Venice

It will run alongside this year's Architecture Biennale.

Zaha Hadid, The Peak. Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects.

Architectural works both finished and unrealized by the late Zaha Hadid will be the subjects of an upcoming survey in Venice. The show, which draws from an archive spanning three decades, will feature the British-Iraqi architect’s works on paper, jewelry, furniture, and 3-D printed models among others.

The exhibition is scheduled to run parallel to the Architecture Biennale, and will occupy ten rooms at the Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti, a historic structure from the 16th century near the Accademia bridge. Hadid, who was reportedly in talks with the show’s financier, Fondazione Berengo, according to the New York Times, initially wanted the exhibition to focus on the new possibilities of computational design methods.

But due to the architect’s sudden death, those involved in the show felt inclined to expand the exhibition. In an interview with the Times, Zaha Hadid Architects’ head of exhibitions Manon Janssens said, “We felt the responsibility to address the fact that, unfortunately, Zaha passed away.”

Zaha Hadid, Perspective (2013). Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Design.

Zaha Hadid, Perspective (2013). Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Design.

At the time of her death, Hadid was working on a number of unfinished designs, with notable projects in Baghdad, Miami, and New York. In 2015, the architect announced additional plans for a new Tokyo Olympic stadium in 2020, but ultimately decided against it.

Previous solo exhibitions held for Hadid include a 2006 show at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and, more recently, a review of her designs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The retrospective for Zaha Hadid will be held at the Palazzo Franchetti in Venice from May 26 through November 27.


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