Heydar Aliyev Center

Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku
Original architectural work: Zaha Hadid Depiction: Interfase, PD

Zaha Hadid’s cultural centre in Baku is a white wave that rises from the ground and folds over the building without any sharp edges. Façade, roof and floor flow together. There is barely a straight line.

Azerbaijan has grown rich on oil and gas, and the capital Baku has built a great deal since the 2000s. The centre is named after the country’s former president Heydar Aliyev. Zaha Hadid Architects received the commission in 2007, and the building opened in 2012. It contains a conference centre, a museum and a library.

The building has a concrete structure and a steel space frame that carries the billowing surface. The surface is clad with panels of glass-fibre reinforced concrete and plastic, each with a unique shape. It has no sharp corners, and the façade flows into the roof and down into the plaza. Inside are large spaces without columns. The form required advanced computer programs for both design and fabrication.

The centre has won architecture awards, including the Design Museum’s Design of the Year in 2014, but has been criticised for its links to the country’s regime and for the demolition of neighbourhoods to make way for it. The Heydar Aliyev Center is regarded as one of Hadid’s most characteristic works and shows parametric design on a large scale.