We haven't had anything by Zaha for at least two days so here is her new chandelier design for Swarovski.
Called Fade, it will be exhibited at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens, London, next week, alongside other chandeliers from the Swarovski Crystal Palace collection.
A temporary canopy designed by Hadid will also be built on the lawn outside the gallery to host the Serpentine Summer Party on 11 July.
The canopyy was commissioned when the gallery realised that the pavilion designed by artist Olafur Eliasson and Kjetil Thorsen of Norwegian architects Snøhetta would not be ready in time for the party, which is the gallery's main annual fundraising event and a fixture on the London social scene.
The party is sponsored this year by (surprise!) Swarovski.
Here is Swarovski's press release:
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The Summer Party
Serpentine Gallery and Swarovski Crystal Palace
Co-Chairs: Zaha Hadid and Dennis Hopper
Wednesday 11 July 2007
The Serpentine Gallery and Swarovski will be co-hosting The Summer Party, the Gallery’s annual fundraising event that will take place on Wednesday 11 July. Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher, Partner at Zaha Hadid Architects will design a temporary installation in which The Summer Party will take place. It will be sited on the lawn next to the Gallery where it will remain for a period of one week.
SWAROVSKI CRYSTAL PALACE: FADE – NEW DESIGN BY ZAHA HADID
There will be a presentation of Swarovski Crystal Palace chandeliers commissioned by Swarovski Crystal Palace, including ‘Fade’ a new design by Zaha Hadid. The design is drawn from the primary elements: gradient effects and interlacing networks. Long span tension structures are complex and prove challenging in many ways. The chandelier being place in a field as a temporary installation created an additional challenge in that it cannot be rigged into the ground invasively. To accomplish this task efficiently while preventing sagging and structural failure, the chandelier will be partially buried in the landscape, hiding from sight the compression element which allows the chandelier to maintain its shape.
Made of stainless steel, the chandelier’s structural elements are non-corrosive and polished for reflectivity. The aim is to make the structure blend into its surroundings all the while highlighting the Swarovski crystals which will appear to float above the ground, catching the light and dispersing it about the environment. The chandelier will comprise two types of crystal dispersions: the first being a gradient effect and the other a pixilation effect.
Swarovski Crystal Palace will also be exhibiting Lolita designed by Ron Arad, Prived Oca by Humberto & Fernando Campana, Ball by Tom Dixon, Black & Lite by Amanda Levete, Cosmos 1 & 2 by Naoto Fukasawa and Kas & Kade by Karim Rashid in the Gallery during the evening.
Swarovski Crystal Palace is a revolutionary concept aimed at reinventing and revitalising the chandelier, one of the most evocative and emotive expressions of cut crystal. Steeped in history and heritage, redolent of 18th century splendour and candlelit intrigue, the chandelier was frozen in time, undiscovered by the design community. Whilst celebrating the rich traditions of the chandelier, Swarovski Crystal Palace has broken barriers, played with the rules and opened a new chapter in the history of lighting.
Swarovski Crystal Palace has invited leading designers and artists from all over the world to create their own contemporary interpretation of the chandelier, to give new expression to its story, meaning and message. Their inspirations came from many varied sources, amongst them the natural world, the visual arts and high technology. The results are dramatic, captivating and are emotionally-charged.
Swarovski Crystal Palace will be exhibiting at Selfridges’ Ultra Lounge on the lower ground floor from 1st – 26th August.
The Summer Party Committee is co-chaired by internationally acclaimed architect Zaha Hadid and screen legend Dennis Hopper.
The temporary installation by Zaha Hadid is designed as an open air space, 5.5 meters in height that consists of three identical fabric structures or parasols arrayed around a central point. Each parasol develops sculpturally from a small articulated base to a large cantilevered diamond shape. Taking inspiration from complex natural geometries such as flower petals and leaves the three parasols overlap to create the installation’s main conceptual feature: complex symmetry, interweaving all-the-while without touching, allowing air, light and sound to travel through narrow gaps in a state that is both open and likewise tending toward closure. Raised on a low platform located within an open field flanked by a row of trees just South of the Serpentine Gallery, the installation is free standing and accessible from all sides.
The Summer Party Committee includes Saffron Aldridge, Solange Azagury-Partridge, Matthew Barney, Barbara Broccoli, Saffron Burrows, Arki Busson, Giles Deacon, Olafur Eliasson, Tracey Emin, Norman Foster, Mariella Frostrup, Antony Gormley, Kim Hersov, Allegra Hicks, Damien Hirst, Christopher Kane, Tim Jefferies, Isaac Julien, Anish Kapoor, Evgeny Lebedev, Ross Lovegrove, Marc Newson, Phoebe Philo, Richard Rogers, Rosario Saxe-Coburg, Amanda Sharp, Matthew Slotover, Juergen Teller, Kjetil Thorsen, Wolfgang Tillmans, Philip Treacy, Felicity Waley-Cohen and Stephen Webster.