Best in show

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Winner of the London Design Museum's Design of the Year, the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan by Zaha Hadid.

Winner of the London Design Museum’s Design of the Year, the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan by Zaha Hadid. Image: Supplied

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The Heydar Aliyev Center is a cultural building which includes a museum and an auditorium.

The Heydar Aliyev Center is a cultural building which includes a museum and an auditorium.

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"The surface of the Heydar Aliyev Center’s external plaza rises and folds to define a sequence of public event spaces within," Hadid said.

“The surface of the Heydar Aliyev Center’s external plaza rises and folds to define a sequence of public event spaces within,” Hadid said. Image: Supplied

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The building creates a new kind of civic space for the city.

The building creates a new kind of civic space for the city. Image: Supplied

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London’s Design Museum has deemed a Zaha Hadid building the Design of the Year at its annual awards. The renowned architect is the first woman to receive the award; her Heydar Aliyev Center, a cultural building which includes a museum and an auditorium in Baku, Azerbaijan, is also the first building to win the supreme award (there are seven categories, including fashion, furniture and transport).

“We’re absolutely delighted,” said Hadid of her win. “The surface of the Heydar Aliyev Center’s external plaza rises and folds to define a sequence of public event spaces within: welcoming, embracing and directing visitors throughout the building. It’s an architectural landscape where concepts of seamless spatial flow are made real – creating a whole new kind of civic space for the city.”

For more on the Design of the Year awards, click here. 


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