A closer look at the stunning Zaha Hadid retrospective in Venice's Palazzo Franchetti

Who would've thought that Zaha Hadid's designs and Venetian architecture can complement each other so beautifully well? A can't-be-missed retrospective honoring the late architect's four-decade career just opened today at the 16th century Palazzo Franchetti in Venice, not too far off from where the 2016 Venice Biennale will take place. Organized by the Fondazione Berengo, this abridged retrospective showcases the multitude of Hadid's pioneering paintings, drawings, and models that made her a designer and artist who was always ahead of her time.

Have a look at these photos of the exhibition below.

“Hadid directly engaged with the experimentation of the Russian Avant-garde early in her career, exploring the compositional techniques of fragmentation, layering and porosity that transcend all her projects. Her early works displayed in the exhibition include Malevich’s Tektonic (1976-77), Hadid’s fourth-year project at the Architectural Association School in London that bridged the River Thames. Also showcased are the competition-winning Peak Club, Hong Kong (1982-83, unrealised); Hafenstrasse, Hamburg (1989, unrealised); Grand Buildings, Trafalgar Square, London (1985, unrealised); Victoria City master-plan for Berlin (1988, unrealised) and the Cardiff Bay Opera House (1994-95, unrealised).”

Hadid described her meticulous design process as lengthy journeys full of unexpected turns, and the results speak for themselves. In previously discussing her paintings, she said: “My paintings really evolved thirty years ago because I thought the architectural drawings required a much greater degree of distortion and fragmentation to assist our research – but eventually it affected the work of course. In the early days of our office the method we used to construct a drawing or painting or model led to new, exciting discoveries.”

“The leads and connections between all of Zaha Hadid Architects’ projects areevident in the exhibition’s juxtaposition of these early designs with projects such as the BMW Central Building in Leipzig (completed 2005) within a landscape of models that integrates project typologies, formal composition, geography and chronology.”

“Three projects representing milestones in Zaha Hadid’s career will also be presented in their own room. Beginning with the Vitra Fire Station (completed 1993) in Weil am Rhein, Germany, Zaha Hadid Architects’ first completed projectand followed by the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati (completed 2003), which contributed to Zaha Hadid being awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004. Concluding the room’s projects is the MAXXI Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome (completed 2009) which transcends the periods in which the practice implemented and developed its wide-ranging experimentation with the rapid advancements in computer-aided design.”

“Hélène Binet’s photographs will also be showcased in their own room. Binet began her relationship with the practice photographing the Vitra Fire Station in 1992 and has continued to the present day with powerful images of many of the firm’s works, including the Salerno Maritime Terminal in Italy, which was inaugurated in April 2016.”

The exhibition will also show all of Zaha Hadid Architects' works in progress. Now under the leadership of Patrik Schumacher, Zaha Hadid Architects continues to move full-speed ahead. In addition to ZHA's first recent competition win post-Zaha, the firm has more projects that are due for completion this year alone. Some of those projects in the exhibition include: The Port House in Antwerp, the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre (KAPSARC) in Riyadh, The Mathematics Gallery at London’s Science Museum, and the firm's residential building near New York's High Line that is expected to be fully built in 2017.

Open until November 27, the public can visit the exhibition every day of the week for an entry fee of €10.

More photos in the gallery below.