January 13, 2005

Image Courtesy Caro Communications

London-based Zaha Hadid has been selected as the architect of the capital’s first new cultural landmark for nearly twenty years. Beating 200 other entries in an international competition, her stunning entry to design the Architecture Foundation’s new home next to the Tate Modern in Southwark will also be her first built project in London.

The building is formed by a solid concrete ribbon wrapped around a full height glazed space at its centre, which is delineated by a transparent envelope of glass. It came the closest of all the eight shortlisted entries to fulfilling the Foundation’s desire for a structure possessing the qualities of both a “billboard” and a “chapel”: attention-grabbing but also contemplative. The space will accommodate the non-profit Foundation’s programme of exhibitions, talks, films, events and competitions and research activities which are promoted to policy makers, design professionals and the public. The judges praised the high standard of other shortlisted entries from Foreign Office Architects, Caruso St John, Bernard Tschumi, MVRDV, Lacaton and Vassal, and strong performances from young architects, A-Graft, a federation of European practices, placed second, and AOC, a team of Royal College of Art graduates, third.

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According to Rowan Moore, the Director of the Foundation, “it is a powerful building that also allows for quieter and more intimate spaces, visual permeability and public accessibility.”The openness of the building on its triangular site exposes its interior to the exterior, explains Hadid, making itself available to the outside world. “It folds the city around inwards and creates a centre of knowledge with a dramatic new perspective.”

The site on Southwark Street is sponsored by Land Securities, the UK’s largest property company, who will cover the $4.75 million construction cost and provide a ten year lease.

Lucy Bullivant