Zaha Hadid's Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan, has picked up the Design Museum's Design of the Year Award 2014. The award, the seventh, marks a couple of firsts: it is the first architectural project to take the award and the first time a woman has won the accolade.
The award comes as little surprise to us. Indeed, we honoured Hadid's undulating arts complex ourselves over three years ago. The Centre won the 'Best Building Site' gong in our 2011 Design Awards. And of course we gave it a proper look over once work was complete.
Hadid's Centre beat off 70 other nominated designs to take the prize this year, also winning the 'architecture' category award.
See the category winners of the Designs of the Year
Kim Colin of Industrial Facility says that 'after heated debate', she and her five fellow jurors were as one in giving Hadid the nod. 'The jury felt that for Zaha's office, this is a pinnacle moment in their portfolio, a sign of international maturity'. She added: 'This architecture should make us talk for years to come.' Fellow jury member Piers Gough said the building was as 'pure and sexy as Marilyn's blown skirt, without an ounce of argumentative modernism in its bones.'
See the full Designs of the Year shortlist and tour the exhibition
For Hadid, the award will be a welcome distraction from the controversy over the scale of her office's design for Tokyo's new Olympic stadium and the labial billowing of the Al-Wakrah stadium in Qatar.
The vast Centre has become a focal point for the city.
The curvaceous structure contains 101,000 m2 of floor area, and sits on a 111,292 m2 graphically landscaped site beneath which there is parking for 1,500 cars.
Under a 39,000m2 roof, the Heydar Aliyev Centre houses a 1,000-seater auditorium, a conference centre, a library, a museum, cafes, restaurants and expansive meeting points.
With a rolling exterior form devoid of a single straight line, the design is as much landscape as it is architecture. Visitors happily walk up its more gently sloping sides.
The white, sweeping architecture of the interior is flooded with natural light.
The auditorium is a rippling box created from strips of American oak, planed in situ according to classic boat building techniques.
ADDRESS
Design Museum London
28 Shad Thames
London SE1 2YD
-
A bespoke 40m mixed-media dragon is the centrepiece of Glastonbury’s new chill-out areaNew for 2025 is Dragon's Tail – a space to offer some calm within Glastonbury’s late-night area with artwork by Edgar Phillips at its heart
-
‘100 Years, 60 Designers, 1 Future’: 1882 Ltd plate auction supports ceramic craftThe ceramics brand’s founder Emily Johnson asked 60 artists, designers, musicians and architects – from John Pawson to Robbie Williams – to design plates, which will be auctioned to fund the next generation of craftspeople
-
Jonathan Anderson’s Dior debut: ‘bringing joy to the art of dressing’The Irish designer made his much-anticipated debut at Dior this afternoon, presenting a youthful S/S 2026 menswear collection that reworked formal dress codes
-
Zaha Hadid Architects’ spaceship-like Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum is now openLast week, ZHA announced the opening of its latest project: a museum in Shenzhen, China, dedicated to the power of technological advancements. It was only fitting, therefore, that the building design should embrace innovation
-
The upcoming Zaha Hadid Architects projects set to transform the horizonA peek at Zaha Hadid Architects’ future projects, which will comprise some of the most innovative and intriguing structures in the world
-
Zaha Hadid Architects reveals plans for a futuristic project in Shaoxing, ChinaThe cultural and arts centre looks breathtakingly modern, but takes cues from the ancient history of Shaoxing
-
Zaha Hadid Architects’ new project will be Miami’s priciest condoConstruction has commenced at The Delmore, an oceanfront condominium from the firm founded by the late Zaha Hadid, ZHA
-
AI in architecture: Zaha Hadid Architects on its pioneering use and collaborating with NVIDIAWe talk to ZHA about AI in architecture, its computational design advances, and its collaboration with NVIDIA on design, data and the future of AI and creativity
-
Omniyat launches The Alba, new Zaha Hadid Architects-designed residences in DubaiDeveloper Omniyat announces The Alba, ultra-luxury residences managed by Dorchester Collection and designed by Zaha Hadid Architects to blend ‘nature and cutting-edge design’
-
Load into this reimagined Fortnite cityscape, courtesy of Zaha Hadid ArchitectsA collaboration between Epic Games and ZHA, Re:Imagine London brings the architects’ modular forms into one of the world’s most popular multiplayer games
-
The Henderson by ZHA in Hong Kong makes everyone sit up and pay attentionThe Henderson, ZHA's new high-rise in Hong Kong, stands out in its coveted address through its unusual, fluted façade of glass columns
