The 5 Brit Awards statues designed by late architect Zaha Hadid have been revealed
Hadid agreed to redesign the statues in what tragically turned out to be one of the final commissions of her career
The new Brit Award statues designed by the architect Zaha Hadid as one of the final commissions before her death earlier this year have been revealed.
Yes, that's "statues" in the plural – because Hadid actually came up with a "family" of five statues. When arranged together, they form a "wave" of transition, representing diversity as they are different yet connected.
The first statue will soon have a new home, as the Critics' Choice winner will be announced next week ahead of the televised ceremony in February.
The Brit design project was led by Maha Kutay, Director at Zaha Hadid Design, alongside Niamh Byrne from the Brit Awards. Iraqi-born British architect Hadid had accepted the invitation to design the awards in January and had begun work on the designs, but after her untimely death from a heart attack on 31st March her team agreed to see the project to its end.
On Hadid's vision for the design, Kutay said: “Zaha was truly excited to be doing this. Our design expresses Zaha’s unwavering belief in progress and optimism for the future and a break from the norm.
"The biggest challenge was to create something different within certain guidelines, yet achieving a result recognisable to the public. You have to respect the existing to create something new.”
Brits Chairman Jason Iley added: “We are delighted with the finished statues. Like Zaha, they are innovative and original and have gone well beyond our expectations to create something special that will progress the Award into the future.”
The Brit Awards 2017 with Mastercard will be broadcast live on ITV on Wednesday 22nd February from London’s O2 Arena