Architectural Design

2nd ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design

Job No: CPD0810-27/4028

008-033 Chapter 1 final_.qxd:layouts to chapter one 8/17/10 6:00 PM Page 28

Case study

The design studio

Zaha Hadid: MAXXI Museum of XXI Century Arts

Conceptual sketch drawn in

notebook

In 1997 Zaha Hadid Architects won the competition to

design the MAXXI Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome.

The construction of an ambitious design for a new

museum, in a city of glorious historic museums, was

culturally and politically significant and the project

developed slowly over a number of years. This case

study looks at different stages in its development.

The project

In an early sketch from Zaha Hadid’s notebook (shown

above) it is possible to understand the importance of the fluid

parallel and crossing lines that would become characteristic

of the constructed MAXXI building. Hadid has referred to

them as ‘streams’. The sketch carries with it some of the

ideas on flow and movement within the city that are found

in much of Hadid’s work. At this early stage, these lines may

express the whole city, the building itself or both. Such

sketches may not always be project specific: they express

ideas and possibilities rather than certainties and solutions.

Text

2nd ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design

Job No: CPD0810-27/4028

008-033 Chapter 1 final_.qxd:layouts to chapter one 8/17/10 6:01 PM Page 28