Zaha Hadid Pop-Up Gallery Opens in New York

A pop-up gallery by Zaha Hadid Architects recently opened in New York, at the base of the late architect’s only building in the city, 520 West 28th Street. The gallery highlights the firm’s scope of work since its beginnings 40 years ago, in the 1970s.

Architectural models of completed and ongoing projects are displayed alongside products designed by Hadid, who passed away unexpectedly in 2016, in the 2,000-square-foot gallery space adjacent to the High Line.

Among Hadid’s products at the gallery are pieces from her rug collection and the Lapella chair. Photo: Kris Tamburello

A replica of 520 West 28th Street is prominently featured inside, while another area hosts a series of six “Silver Models”—originally conceived by Hadid for the “Silver Paintings” exhibition at London’s Rove Gallery in 2005.

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In conjunction with Cologne’s ammann//gallery, photography by Hélène Binet captures the materiality and composition of ZHA’s work. Binet began her relationship with the practice in 1993, photographing ZHA’s first completed building, the Vitra Fire Station, and has continued to the present day with powerful images of the firm’s most renowned projects.

During her incredible career, the Iraqi-British architect conceived designs not just for buildings but for furniture, jewelry, and fashion. Among Hadid’s products on view at the gallery are pieces from her rug collection with Royal Thai, a chandelier for Slamp, and the Lapella chair, which was Hadid’s interpretation of Hans J. Wagner’s 1963 lounge chair using marble and carbon fiber composites.

A model of 520 West 28th, Hadid’s splendid residential building in New York. Photo: Kris Tamburello

“My product designs and architecture have always been connected,” Hadid said during her 2006 retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum. “Some of our earliest projects were designs for products and interiors. These design pieces are very important to me and my team. 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.”

While the pop-up is open only through December, there are plans to move it to a permanent home nearby in the coming years.

The pop-up gallery is open at 514 West 28th Street at the High Line through December, from 1–6 p.m., Tuesday–Friday.