Zaha Hadid was officially announced as the final winner of the long standing competition to design the King Abdullah II House for Art and culture in Amman. Mayor Omar Maani made the announcement in a special ceremony held a couple of days ago where he hosted Hadid and a group of dignitaries, cultural officials and local architects.

Watch the video of Zaha’s presentation and the ensuing Q&A session. Sorry about the sound quality. If you’re really keen on this video, use headphones :-)

Part 1: Zaha Hadi present previous work and Amman project

Part2: Q&A

Read my July 2008 post on this project here.


Posted

in

, ,

by

Tags:

Comments

4 responses to “VIDEO: Zaha Hadid announced as winner to design new art and culture center in Amman”

  1. Mohanned Avatar
    Mohanned

    Given the bad economic shape the city of amman is in, and the overall economic situation in the country where debt has reached historical level, do we really need this, now? People in charge need to get their priorities straight and understand the symbolism of their actions. But I guess they won’t understand because they live in a bubble.

    On a side note:how much did the design phase cost? I am really interested to know the number.I mean it’s zaha hadid after all.

  2. Dee Avatar
    Dee

    haven’t seen the videos yet, they’re taking some time, but i really can’t imagine zaha and culture in one place…i love her work, but i imagine it’ll be more on the iconic side than on the cultural image they should be going for…

  3. Ahmad Al-Sholi Avatar
    Ahmad Al-Sholi

    It looks impressive. But between quality of sound and some other points I have some questions if you have answers for:

    1. Did they say that it will be solar energy powered or is it only the skylight to minimize day time electricity?
    2. She mentioned its similarity to NY’s Guggenheim (very true despite that Guggenheim is way smaller than this), but how does that relate to Amman exactly?
    3. It is very exciting to see that there is financial sensibility demonstrated through the 1600 theatre discussion. Do you know how much is projected for this project and where will it be financed from?
    4. Is there any specific reason to present in English and not in Arabic?

  4. petitenemesis Avatar
    petitenemesis

    i’m a huge fan of zaha hadid’s work, but i can’t help but wonder if the cost of the opera house is justified. we have so many other issues that the money can be pumped into; when and why did opera become a priority?