The Product Design of Zaha Hadid

The Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid, Hon. FAIA, who died today at the age of 65, did more than dabble in product design. Her ever-growing portfolio (her studio announced an accessories line with Georg Jensen last week) includes jewelry, vessels, seating, a prototype car, and more than a few shoes, all of which confer the sinuous, sculptural, and whimsical nature of her award-winning structures at a scale that makes them tangible, even personal.

Known for experimenting with novel fabrication techniques—such as a 2013 collaboration with United Nude to create 3D-printed footwear (shown above)—Hadid worked with materials from wood to aluminum to polyurethane and more, including the occasional encrusted Swarovski crystal or diamond. As the Philadelphia Museum of Art noted alongside an exhibition of her product-design work in 2011 and 2012, Hadid “has advanced the vocabulary of contemporary architecture and design through the exploration of complex fluid geometries and the use of cutting-edge techniques and manufacturing technologies.”

Below, we recap a selection of Hadid’s celebrated product-design work.

A 2014 housewares collection for Harrods in London includes candles, place mats, a chess set, and a four-piece platter (shown in polished acrylic).

Hadid crafted the Tau marble vessels for Italian brand Citco in 2015.

The CNC-milled Stalactite and Stalagmite Table, for the studio’s Z-Scape furniture line, shows Hadid’s work with wood.

Among her 2013 collection for Swiss accessories brand Caspita is the Skein ring, shown here in white gold.

Working with European lighting manufacturer Zumtobel, Hadid helped to conceive VorteXX, a luminaire whose organic composition is based on the idea of a continuous ribbon of light.

Hadid’s design of the futuristic 2013 Zephyr Sofa was commissioned by Italian furniture maker Cassina as a 12-piece limited-edition collection.

The studio offered a preview of the forthcoming Georg Jensen jewelry collection earlier this month.