Zaha Hadid: Crest

Designed by Zaha Hadid for Me by Meliã Hotels, Crest is an experimental sculpture that tests new design and construction technologies applied to a material of minimal thickness.

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Designed as a temporary installation which will remain at the V&A during the London Design Festival, Crest establishes an intriguing dialogue with the formal dichotomy inherent within the hotel’s design.

Crest tests the limits and possibilities for a new construction technique involving panels of pre-stressed, eight-millimetre-thick aluminum assembled in two layers as a flat sheet and then bent in-situ into the curved form that is held in tension to be self-supporting.

Zaha Hadid said of the installation, “Crest explores the relationship between surface and structure, transforming the planar water surface of the V&A’s courtyard pool into a curvilinear form, creating a compelling interplay with light and reflection.”

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Zaha Hadid, Crest. Installation for Me by Meliá, Victoria&Albert Museum, London

Zaha Hadid, Crest. Installation for Me by Meliá, Victoria&Albert Museum, London

Zaha Hadid, Crest. Installation for Me by Meliá, Victoria&Albert Museum, London

13–21 September, 2014
Crest
Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road, London

Architects: Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
Design team: Melodie Leung, Peter Logan, Ovidiu Mihutescu
Structural Engineering: Buro Happold (Rastislav Bartek, James Solly)
Fabrication: Lite Structures
Commissioner: ME by Meliá