A Homage to Curves

Sinuous, organic, space age – these spectacular designs will ensure the legacy of the late Zaha Hadid, the 'Queen of Curve', will live on

Catherine SmithApril 4, 2016

Houzz New Zealand Contributor. A design addict from way back, I can't resist looking at other people's houses. And doing a tiny bit of styling and decluttering. Just a tiny bit.

The sudden death of outstanding architect Zaha Hadid last week is bound to generate reassessments of her work, and her legacy as an architect, a woman, and a proud Arab. That’s why we’re taking this occasion to celebrate some spectacularly curvy designs that will directly (and indirectly) let the queen of curve’s work live on.

You may not have had the budget for a genuine Zaha Hadid building (a sports stadium was built for £1.8 billion, a penthouse apartment in New York for US$50 million) – nor the time to take in her wonderful, grand cultural statements (the London Olympics’ aquatic centre, for example) but Hadid’s extraordinary legacy can live on in the way she took beautiful curves off the drawing board and into buildings.

The technology of parametric design allowed Hadid to design structural shapes that could then be transformed into actual engineering, which could then be physically built.

Here’s how you can translate that innovation in a more modest form for your own home.

Signature Stairs

Even on a domestic scale, the sinuous staircase of white concrete, with light that pours in from unexpected angles, elevates getting from one level to the next to something, well, heavenly.

Homes that get creative with concrete

Matt Gibson Architecture + Design

Curved wood is harder than concrete to manipulate, but the combination of organic material with organic shape, as seen here, generates a satisfying response.

ROBERT HARVEY OSHATZ, ARCHITECT

Our first homes were gently rounded huts or caves, and somewhere in our subconscious, we still respond to that sense of comfort when we see curves. Here, vertical curves built in natural stone complement the horizontal sweeps of the roof, grounding the building into the earth.

Dale Jones-Evans Pty Ltd Architecture

Metals can be manipulated into organic shapes too. Here, a Sydney house uses sweeps of copper to flow around the building, drawing the eye around the structure.

Hufft

Insert a curve into a square, contrast the warmth of wood with the brutalism of concrete, let shadows change as the light moves around the house: a classic combination of Hadid tricks, realised on a domestic scale.

PKA.

Curves are not new: Art Deco architects responded to the excitement of the machine age of the 1920s and 30s in much the same way as Hadid and her architects exploited the incredible software and engineering of the digital age. Timeless.

10 steps to an Art Deco sleep space

Dig Design

Even on a small scale, a curved porch and deck creates excitement in a building that squares and right angles simply cannot match.

Hadid’s interiors were the modern equivalent of medieval cathedrals – the viewer just had to stop and wonder at the flow of light, and how the pieces fit together. On a more modest domestic scale, play with ceiling heights, clerestory windows and robust materials to create an energetic interior.

A Melbourne addition with curve appeal

Platinum Building Group

Hadid also created art-gallery-worthy furniture. Her transparent acrylic pieces flowed like melting ice, their construction defying logic. Here, a piece of art inserted into the kitchen (the crafted legs, the organic bench shape) transforms a working space into something more high art than simply practical.

TELL US
How have you embraced curves in your home’s design, or what other elements of Hadid’s design would you like to work into a new-build or renovation project? Share your thoughts with us in the Comments below.

MORE
Architectural Curves: Are They Worth It
Ahead of the Curve: Futuristic Bathrooms for Today
12 Kitchens That Flaunt Their Curves

See 6 comments