In the courtyard of the Institut du Monde Arabe, in the Latin Quarter at the start of Blvd. St. Germain, is a shiny, curvaceous white structure resembling a spaceship. It's the mobile art pavilion designed by Zaha Hadid and features a retrospective of the last 30 years of her cutting edge architecture. Hadid originally designed the structure for Chanel in 2008 as a traveling art exhibition showcasing artists designing special edition handbags for Chanel and toured Hong Kong,Tokyo, and New York before arriving in Paris.
Recognized as one of the most respected architects in the world right now, Hadid was the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize, the top architecture prize in the world, which was awarded to her in 2004. She was born in Baghdad, later moving to Beirut and is now based in London. She is dedicated to designing works in mid-east countries.
The futuristic look of the structure is the perfect backdrop to highlight the past and future designs of Hadid, including projects in Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, and Dubai.
If you want to see the future of architecture now, go transport yourself to Zaha Hadid's world at the Institut du Monde Arabe.
Zaha Hadid, Une Architecture - Till October 30
Institut du Monde Arabe
1 rue des Fosses Saint Bernard
Place Mohammed V, 75004
Metro: Jussieu
Tuesday to Friday 10AM-6PM, Saturday & Sunday 10AM-7PM
http://www.imarabe.org/exposition/a-la-une
In addition to my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, we now offer Eye Prefer New York Tours, 3-hour walking tours of New York's best neighborhoods including Soho, Meatpacking/West Village & Tribeca. Tours cost $195 for up to 3 people and $65 for each additional person.Come take a bit of the Big Apple on an Eye Prefer New York Tour!
Come experience my blog ìliveî with my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I lead. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris. www.eyepreferparistours.com
New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotteís professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.
Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.
Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.
I saw this structure in central park when it visited nyc. actually, it looks much happier here surrounded by buildings rather than grass.
Posted by: Judy | August 30, 2011 at 07:48 PM
I believe there was an article about her work in The New Yorker in the last 6 months....she really is in demand now!
Posted by: Linda | August 30, 2011 at 07:51 PM
Bonjour Richard!
FYI - The Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio is Hadid's first American work: http://contemporaryartscenter.org/architecture
We were just there for a wedding this summer!
Posted by: MadAboutParis | August 30, 2011 at 10:27 PM