Zaha Hadid Design's latest collection showcased at Design Shanghai 2019

Design Shanghai, one of Asia’s leading international design events, held at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre, China, (March 6-9, 2019) saw Zaha Hadid Design showcase its latest assortment of designer products. The display comprised of the Skyrunner installation and the latest pieces from Zaha Hadid Design collection 2019.

Zaha Hadid Architects, established in 1979 in London by late Zaha Hadid, is celebrated for their consistent inventiveness, for liberating geometry, and redefining architectural identity with their dynamic parametric structures. An increase in demand for Hadid’s work led to the development of Zaha Hadid Design (ZHD) in 2006, and today it functions under co-directors Woody Yao and Maha Kutay. It features a selection of homeware, set design and giftware, which is retailed worldwide in selected stores as well as online. A reminiscent of Hadid’s architectural works, the high-end product range presents fluid lines and organic geometries.

My product designs and architecture have always been connected; some of our earliest projects were designs for products and interiors. They inspire our creativity by providing an opportunity to express our ideas through different scales and through different media; an essential part of our on-going design investigation” – Zaha Hadid, during her exhibition at Guggenheim Museum, New York (2006)

It is rare to witness architectural firms foraying into industrial design, yet Zaha Hadid Architects has done that with extreme clarity through the establishment of Zaha Hadid Design. Hadid’s avante garde approach to designing buildings is illustrated in her product line as well. Several of the ideas and principles used in Hadid’s structures are apparent in the products’ terminology, forging a cohesive identity between her architectural works and her product range.

The Skyrunner installation

Zaha Hadid Design set up the Skyrunner installation at Design Shanghai 2019 in collaboration with Royal Thai and Kohler. It showcased the RE/Form carpet collection, consisting of 22 designs, conceived across four themes - striated lines, ribbon like projections, pixelated landscapes and organic cellular shapes.

These carpets were woven on Axminster-looms (famous carpet weaving looms in the Devon town of Axminster, England) and hand-tufted, created by punching strands of wool or other material into a canvas stretched on a frame, with a hand operated tufting gun.

Hadid’s signature practice of interweaving, layering, and a medley of light and shadow has been accomplished through these unique carpets. "The designs introduce custom new colours for Royal Thai commercial carpets, with hues of turquoise, red and green in their colour palettes", the studio elaborated.

The RE/Form carpet collection designs include:

Striation carpets

Ribbon carpets

Cellular carpets

Pixels carpets

New pieces for the Zaha Hadid Design collection 2019

The latest collection is reflective of the firm’s innovative and contemporary methodology in design. Director of Zaha Hadid Design, Woody Yao, explained, “The strength of the collection lies in our ability to interpret the ordinary into something unexpected. When designing objects, Zaha was never constrained by any given use or spatial context. We continue to follow this approach with an unwavering commitment to design ingenuity and material integrity.”

The new pieces for 2019 collection include:

Swirl bowl

The bowl is fashioned from crystal glass, imitating a liquefied vortex, apparent within its undulating form.

Cell platter, plate and bowl

A plate and a bowl set in porcelain, and a platter in Nero Marquina or Statuario marble are the latest additions to the existing Cell family. Set in a monochromatic colour palette, channels sculpted into their surfaces create subtle hollows, for usage.

Cell centerpiece

Crafted from stainless steel, the new Cell centerpiece contains a combination of solids and voids, to spheres and hexagons, in its making.

Hew glassware

The new Hew Glassware range is a visual stunner with its wine glass, highball, tumbler and a carafe. Pushing technical limits of glass making, this fine range has vertical carvings in each piece, and delicate stems in some.

Hew tray

An evolution of Zaha Hadid’s previously acclaimed Hew collection, the Hew tray is composed of adjoined surfaces that was referenced as water lilies by Hadid. The surging base has slight depressions, and its surface and base are differentiated with the help of a powder coated finish of contrasting colours.

Known for her radical and de-constructivist style of architecture, Zaha Hadid’s influence is easy to spot within these undulating and sleek products created by the eponymous studio. A heightened integration of her architectural works is rendered in this parametric designer product line. On display at Design Shanghai 2019 in March, the brand continued to enthrall design lovers with its chic and distinct products. Zaha Hadid Design, with these tactile arrangement of designer pieces, manages to up its own competition, bordering and achieving a theatrical vision in product design.

Project Details

Name: Zaha Hadid Design at Design Shanghai Exhibition 2019
Location: Shanghai Exhibition Centre, Shanghai, China
Date: March 6-9, 2019
Design team: Zaha Hadid Design