Famed architect Zaha Hadid made an impactful, futuristic mark on the world before her life ended too soon.
Her work designing skyscrapers, stadiums, public spaces, and museums elevated the world of architecture, and we’re better off because of it. But during her entire career, Hadid only designed two residential properties. One of them is located outside of Moscow, and looks like a combination of a supervillain lair and the USS Enterprise. The only other one on Earth is tucked on a quiet residential street in the Belgravia district of London.
Artfully set back from the cobblestone street, we see the hints of something special, with a white brick facade that feels like it’s been peeled back like a curtain.
Set amongst 19th century Mews homes, the four story, ultra-modern residence was personally designed by Hadid, who had a close relationship with the client.
As you walk into the home, you see the trademark sinewy, futuristic forms that Hadid is known for, featuring sleek, built-in details from a custom curved glass railing, high-performance cast concrete stairs, and rounded glass walls that offer views of the neighborhood.
Soft, built-in lighting, liquid-bronze bar, and a myriad of other custom touches exemplify the home, which had to meet the high standards of the historical neighborhood in which it’s set.
Sadly Zaha Hadid died before this home was completed, and before more residences could be designed.
Read more about this extraordinary design in Architectural Digest, which does a great job walking through the processes needed to create this one-of-a-kind home.
Speaking about why this was one of only two Zaha Hadid homes ever designed:
“This London home is such a little surprise that no one really knows about,” explains Bidisha Sinha, an associate director at Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) and project manager for the Belgravia dwelling. “Zaha was certainly asked by many people around the globe to design their family home, but I suspect time was the real [limiting] factor.
-AD
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