Zaha Hadid's UltraStellar Collection

This month Zaha Hadid’s final furniture collection went on display at David Gill Gallery, a space she had a long-running relationship with. We attended the opening last week which celebrated both the show and the life of the late architect.

For her UltraStellar series, Hadid moved away from the acrylic material she’s known for, instead turning to traditional materials; wood, glass, silver and leather. The table pictured below left is walnut with a lenticular glass eye in the centre. She astounds us yet again with the beauty in the fluidity of her forms, their organic movements heightened by natural materials.

Every piece is bespoke and highlights her unwavering vision for contemporary, almost futuristic, design. The collection includes the Lisse Chandelier, show below, a colossal and dazzling chandelier in glass and aluminium. The exhibition comprises just eight works in total, each is arresting and inspiring.

Three of the pieces were created for her Liquid Glacial collection - most recognisably the Liquid Glacial table made entirely in glass, shown below. The design sees a flat tabletop transformed through refracted light as ripples below the surface of the glass create a subtle wave effect. The overall effect is a stunning impression of water frozen in time. Zaha Hadid’s design visionary will undeniably live on in these beautiful pieces.

We also loved the two versions of the group sofa, pictured below. Both variations allow groups of three to four people to sit together in a more united and conversational pose than regular sofas. 

“[Zaha] manipulated materials, she pushed our beliefs in shape, throwing away traditional ideas of form and function and made us all catch our breath whenever we saw her work. We will miss not only Zaha’s unique voice in terms of design and manufacture but we will most importantly miss a very dear friend.”

- David Gill -

The show is on until 29th October 2016.

Time for Design

At the end of April, Phillips in London is holding an auction, ‘Time for Design’, to raise funds for the final stages of development of the new Design Museum.

The Design Museum is relocating to Holland Park in November this year. Having stood vacant for a decade, the West London building is being transformed into a 21st century museum by a team led by John Pawson - an architect known for his minimalist aesthetic.

The donations for the auction have come from design greats like the late Zaha Hadid, Thomas Heatherwick, Norman Foster and Antony Gormley. Talking about the auction, Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic explains "Friends of the museum ... have donated such outstanding pieces, often from their personal collections, to help us fulfil our ambition of creating one of London's most important new cultural sites."

There are some incredible pieces for sale like this 'D-Sofa' by Ron Arad. Born in Tel Aviv, Arad now lives and works in London, with a studio in Chalk Farm. He is known for pushing heavy materials like metals to their limits and creating objects that go against the grain - this sofa is a great example of his rejection of traditional soft furniture. 

We were obviously devastated to hear about Zaha Hadid's recent passing, her creative brilliance was a major asset to British creativity, architecture and design and she truly left a mark on the cities her creations still stand in. Philips is auctioning this collection of her 'Bianco Covelano' low tables from the 'Mercuric' collection.

We were also intrigued by this large chandelier by Tord Boontje, made from enamelled steel, clear crystal and crystal AB coating. He is widely known for his famous Garland light that was a sell-out Habitat high street piece. Tord wants to stress that modernism doesn’t always mean minimalism. His work blends traditional methods and design with contemporary technology to create sensory pieces.