If you want to be humbled, motivated and inspired then go to the Guggenheim, and use the building as it was designed by taking the elevator to the top floor, and walking down the ramps.
If you walk up like everyone else, you’ll be too tired to fully appreciate the work by the time you reach the top.
The only reason they design shows starting at the bottom is to accommodate the thousands that visit the museum each day. There aren’t enough elevators and the building was designed to have 500 or so people passing through each day.
Zaha Hadid is an architect based in London, born in Baghdad, and now in her 50’s she is easily one of the most prolific architects living. She has thankfully not developed the one liner attitude to building that someone like Frank Gehry has- build big glass box, make skew, fill with art and people, leave. (see the criticism on Wikipedia).
Her buildings are elegant forms, each work designed for and of the space it uses, both on a practical and physical level, as well as a conceptual level. Her design is practical-something many architects have garnered much criticism for not being. In the last few years she has begun to build and receive commissions across the world- with projects on the go everywhere. And in between all of this she still finds time to paint, draw and keep abreast of the latest technology in building and production: admittedly she has a small army working for her, probably living in fear of being fired at the drop of a hat (something for which she has become notorious for). As one blog stated-great show-now take a chill pill!
