Deconstructivism: ZAHA HADID

By Talia Wang

Although known for her works in parametricism, which is a sub subdivision of deconstructivism, Zaha Hadid was a leading architect in deconstructivism. One of her earlier works was the MAXXI National Museum of XXI century arts in Rome built between 1998-2009. The building was referred to as “A modernised site which draws on the insertion of a cultural programme. The urban context is expected to change over time and the project is seen as an agent of transformation.” Deconstructivism is a pivotal point in architecture where architects begin challenging the notions of classical architecture involving order, symmetry and perpendicular form which was established in the early 20th century during the modernism period of architecture. The building is a composition of bending oblong tubes, overlapping and intersecting over each other, resembling a massive piece of transport infrastructure. Zaha Hadid began her works of deconstructivism not only for aesthetic purposes but there are meanings behind her aesthetic decisions. For example, the fragmentation of form to form curves and arches respond to the streets of Rome, the steel columns refer to the Bernini Colonnade columns and finally, the use of concrete is a material that the Romans have mastered in Classical architecture such as the Pantheon. The MAXXI museum was a quintessential piece of deconstructive architecture which continues to be relevant today and is considered radical for its time yet highly considered with intricate details that respond to the context and qualities of Rome.