Zaha Hadid has been selected to design a new mathematics gallery for the London Science Museum, as part of the museum's ongoing redevelopment which also includes a new library and research facilities. The gallery is set to open in 2016 and will be named after David and Claudia Harding, who provided a £5 million (over US$8 million) donation.
The architect, who studied mathematics at the American University in Beirut, looks a good fit for the project and described how a visit to the London Science Museum aged 10 inspired her. From the renders Hadid's office has provided to the press, the gallery looks to feature the architects usual trademark style – albeit with a subtle math twist.
The gallery will be arranged so as to follow the turbulence field data of a Handley Page airplane exhibit, which will be suspended from the ceiling and serve as centerpiece of the gallery. The biplane dates back to 1929 and was used to research the aerodynamic requirements of taking off and landing slowly, and relied on complex interactive equations.
The announcement of Hadid's hiring also offered an interesting footnote. While chatting about the gallery, the architect took the opportunity to reveal that she wishes to add her own skyscraper to the increasing number of tall towers in London.
"I’d love to do a tower in London but [the opportunity] hasn’t arrived," Hadid told Building Design. "I’m sure there are a lot of really great clients, but maybe they don’t associate us with corporate or residential work."
Source: Zaha Hadid Architects