Zaha Hadid at Salone del Mobile 2014

Info & Images: Courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects

Photography: Jacopo Spilimbergo

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Blurring the lines between abstraction and function, Ar. Zaha Hadid launches four products at the Salone del Mobile 2014…

Almost unstoppable, Ar. Zaha Hadid continues to evolve one fluid form after another. At the recently concluded Salone in Milan, Zaha unveiled 3 products for CITCO and one for Sawaya & Moroni.

Working with stone, all three products for CITCO highlight the natural qualities of the material, its sheen lending to the overall aesthetic, while her chair design for Moroni is a continuation of her work exhibited at the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Tela Shelving

Tela Shelving

Tela is a shelving system characterized by an interesting dichotomy: the solidity of the black granite of which it is composed seemingly dissipates with the elongated cantilevers. At the centre of the configuration, its structural core, are the interwoven shelves that appear to open and unfold from a single surface to follow parallel trajectories. The design integrates the powerful dynamic forces inherent to cantilevered systems.

 

Luna Table

The Luna table has evolved from the research of abstraction evident throughout Zaha’s repertoire. The pristine surface of the tabletop is her starting point; the established constant to which Zaha applies the forces that inform the table’s structure.

These forces explore the relationship between planar and volume, transforming the rigid two-dimensional surface into the third dimension. With the formal language of morphological affiliation, these abstractions reach downward and extend to the ground; expressing the inherent connectivity within all of Zaha’s work.  

Luna Table

In polished white Carrara marble, the fluid geometries of the Luna table’s legs dissolve the conventional differentiation between structure and skin, their generating forces transferred through the stone to impact the rigid plane of the tabletop. These smaller indentations within this surface reflect the materiality of the piece, the marble seeming to absorb much of the dynamic forces that define the table’s composition, creating functional bowls within the tabletop.

 

Calla Fireplace

Calla Fireplace

Calla is a reinterpretation of the classic wall fireplace. Crafted entirely of Negro Marquina black marble, this design originates from the apparent torsional forces between its interior and exterior surfaces, defining the formal composition of the fireplace in a dialogue of curvilinear geometries.

Informed by the natural growth systems of Calla Lily petals that softly radiate from a central stem, the smooth, polished surface further reflects the fluidity of the form and variations in the flame.

 

Manta Ray Duo 

 

The surface as a field of experimentation capable of generating volume is the source of the Manta Ray Duo design. Zaha’s research into architectural surfaces capable of generating space and volume is a continuation of her work exhibited at the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Manta Ray Duo 

For the cast-aluminium double-seat Manta Ray Duo, a lightweight shell is created by gently folding the continuous surface to generate a plastic, embracing form: a double chair set side-by-side. Expressing the simplicity of its structure, the fluid, single surface models and unites as the twin-shell shape rises on its central axis to create an element of separation and support; an unusual armrest that is integral to the overall development of the form. At the same time, the more tightly defined curves of Y-shaped structure behind the seat can be perceived.