By reputation, Zaha Hadid is an architect who pushes the boundaries of structural design. Such is the complexity of recreating her vision in real life that it has taken eight years for her to build a bridge.
It is, of course, no ordinary bridge. This is a radical design with steel waves that seem to engulf the roadway. Its completion this month will only enhance her reputation for futuristic constructions that not only defy gravity but raise expectations about whether they can even get off the ground.
The new Sheikh Zayed Bridge, a crucial link in the new highway that will push into the heart of the city, is one of her most ambitious projects in a career spanning more than 30 years. Afterwards she will turn her attention to Saadiyat Island, where she is constructing the Performing Arts Centre, an extraordinary, organic design. These are projects that in a sense mark her homecoming to the Middle East from Britain, where she lives: she was born in Baghdad almost 60 years ago, the daughter of a prominent Iraqi industrialist and politician.
For a long time she was dismissed as a starry-eyed fantasist, making designs that appeared to mock feasibility. Decades on, she has become a superstar in the eyes of both the architectural elite and developers.
The Abu Dhabi projects are being realised just as she adds yet another award for her mantelpiece - the Stirling, from the Royal Institute of British Architects, one of the ultimate accolades. She won it for Maxxi, in which she shaped irregular lines and curvaceous geometry into the National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome.
The Stirling judges praised her "structural pyrotechnics" and acknowledged that many of Hadid's designs are so daring that they have yet to get beyond the drawing-board stage. She once said, "My ambition is always to realise theoretical projects that seem difficult at the time."
"Zaha Hadid is a visionary", says Julia Peyton-Jones, director of the Serpentine Gallery in London, which commissioned two temporary pavilions from her in 2000 and 2007. "She works in a visionary way. She creates something truly extraordinary with each client and each context. While having a significant architectural language on the one hand, she is also a pioneer in terms of her own work, constantly reinventing."
Several leading international architects are being drawn to work on projects in the Middle East, but Ms Hadid is the only Arab and the only woman among them. She is busy on design projects not only in the Gulf, primarily Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but also in Amman, Beirut, Cairo, Damascus and Istanbul. She is about to start her first building in her country of birth, a commission from the Central Bank of Iraq in Baghdad.
Abu Dhabi is a highly mobile society, and Ms Hadid's bridge is part of the new route that includes the massive Salam Street project, which will take motorists to the Corniche without passing a single traffic light.
In 1967, a steel-arch bridge was built to connect the fledgling city of Abu Dhabi island to the mainland, followed by a second bridge in the 1970s, connecting downstream at the south side of the island.
The location of the new gateway crossing, close to the first bridge, is a "sinusoidal waveform", a structural silhouette across the channel that rises up to 60 metres above the water level, a feat of engineering.
Urban landscapes and even society can be completely transformed by great or controversial architecture, as in the Spanish city of Bilbao with the avant-garde design of the Guggenheim Museum by Frank Gehry: it put Bilbao, previously avoided by travellers as a grim industrial city, on the tourism map. Bilbao now attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, and the museum has rejuvenated Bilbao economically. It has inspired pride in the citizens of Bilbao - even those who don't like the museum's design.
Hadid's bridge and the Performing Arts Centre (which is set to house five theatres along a seafront promenade), along with Gehry's Guggenheim outpost and Jean Nouvel's Louvre, are all part of Abu Dhabi's ambition to transform itself into an extraordinary cultural destination.
She was inspired to draw by her mother and as a child set her heart on becoming an architect. She went to school with children from different backgrounds, and those memories have, it seems, stayed with her.
Hadid's belief that the arts have always bridged cultural, economic and social divides led to her appointment earlier this year as an Artist for Peace for Unesco, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Her father was a wealthy Sunni industrialist from Mosul, a political liberal who was involved in the overthrow of the Iraqi monarchy in 1958. Her early education was at a school run by nuns in Baghdad, and continued in Switzerland and at the American University in Beirut, where she studied mathematics.
In the early 1970s she arrived in Britain, and has lived there ever since, in Clerkenwell, London.
After completing her studies at the Architectural Association, she joined Rem Koolhaas as a partner at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture. She opened an independent practice in London in 1980. It took Hadid 13 years to get her first project built, a period in which she survived by teaching. But in 1993 her first built work was completed, the Vitra Fire Station, in Germany.
The following year there was a major setback. She won an international competition to build an opera house in Cardiff, Wales, but the project was blocked because of local objections to her futuristic design.
It was a difficult time for Hadid. But, as popular taste became more daring, international commissions eventually followed, and she is now regarded as one of the world's great architects, a designer of revolutionary experimentation, unexpected architectural forms and unorthodox responses to sites.
Crucially, Hadid's treatment of space encourages social contact. In 2004, she was the first woman to receive another of architecture's most prestigious prizes, the Pritzker. The Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati, in the United States, and the Hoenheim-Nord Terminus in Strasbourg, Germany are among her seminal projects admired for transforming our vision of the future.
Hadid is now in such demand that she is working on 30 projects at any one time, and has a team of 400 in offices worldwide. Beyond the Middle East, her practice is working on the wave-roofed Aquatics Centre for the London 2012 Olympic Games, high-speed train stations in Italy and Spain, and urban master plans for Beijing.
Although her colleagues say Hadid is shy until she gets to know people, they praise her team spirit and leadership.
Each project begins with her sketching furiously with a black felt pen. She discusses the ideas with her team, and they shape them into models on computers or paper.
Kenny Schachter, an American who is one of her close friends and patrons, and who has commissioned 30 projects, from a car and a boat to a building, says that with Hadid "all previously held beliefs are suspended, blurred and ultimately overturned, but with mathematical precision.
"She makes order out of distorted reality. Hadid is busy filling voids, controlling space and constantly morphing and transforming."
Her materials - Plexiglas, mirror, fibreglass, metals - are as diverse as the objects she crafts like "a mad alchemist", Schachter says. "Her work is at times construed as futuristic and outlandish, but the reality is that it is entirely grounded in natural concerns. She uses geometry as an artistic medium to paint pictures and craft sculptures of the physical world around us."
Fellow architects say her imagination knows no bounds, that she is brimming with ideas - "millions of ideas", one says.
As Hans Ulrich Obrist, the Serpentine's Swiss-born director of international projects, puts it: "She has completely invented a new language in architecture ... her importance will grow more and more. She is one of the great heroines of our time."
* The National
Men's football draw
Group A: UAE, Spain, South Africa, Jamaica
Group B: Bangladesh, Serbia, Korea
Group C: Bharat, Denmark, Kenya, USA
Group D: Oman, Austria, Rwanda
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
TEST SQUADS
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.
Sunday's games
Liverpool v West Ham United, 4.30pm (UAE)
Southampton v Burnley, 4.30pm
Arsenal v Manchester City, 7pm
RESULT
Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
%3Cp%3EFirst%20ODI%20-%20Sunday%2C%20June%204%20%0D%3Cbr%3ESecond%20ODI%20-%20Tuesday%2C%20June%206%20%0D%3Cbr%3EThird%20ODI%20-%20Friday%2C%20June%209%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMatches%20at%20Sharjah%20Cricket%20Stadium.%20All%20games%20start%20at%204.30pm%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMuhammad%20Waseem%20(captain)%2C%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20Adithya%20Shetty%2C%20Ali%20Naseer%2C%20Ansh%20Tandon%2C%20Aryansh%20Sharma%2C%20Asif%20Khan%2C%20Basil%20Hameed%2C%20Ethan%20D%E2%80%99Souza%2C%20Fahad%20Nawaz%2C%20Jonathan%20Figy%2C%20Junaid%20Siddique%2C%20Karthik%20Meiyappan%2C%20Lovepreet%20Singh%2C%20Matiullah%2C%20Mohammed%20Faraazuddin%2C%20Muhammad%20Jawadullah%2C%20Rameez%20Shahzad%2C%20Rohan%20Mustafa%2C%20Sanchit%20Sharma%2C%20Vriitya%20Aravind%2C%20Zahoor%20Khan%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh132,000 (Countryman)
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Ramy%3A%20Season%203%2C%20Episode%201
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAri%20Katcher%2C%20Ryan%20Welch%2C%20Ramy%20Youssef%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERamy%20Youssef%2C%20Amr%20Waked%2C%20Mohammed%20Amer%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
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