Zaha Hadid wins the Design Museum's Designs of the Year Award 2014

Zaha Hadid is the first woman to win the Design Museum's Designs of the Year Award 2014 with her Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan. Another first in this year's competition is that the Heydar Aliyev Center is the first architectural project to win the widely recognized award.

The competition began with 76 nominations in the categories Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics, Product, and Transport, followed by the selection of the seven Category winners. Finally, Hadid won the top prize.

"2014’s Design of the Year winner was chosen by a distinguished panel of experts from over 70 nominated designs. All of the nominated designs are on display in an exhibition at the Design Museum until August 25, 2014. 

Zaha Hadid said: ‘We’re absolutely delighted to receive the Design of the Year Award. The surface of the Heydar Aliyev Centre’s external plaza rises and folds to define a sequence of public event spaces within; welcoming, embracing and directing visitors throughout the building. It’s an architectural landscape where concepts of seamless spatial flow are made real – creating a whole new kind of civic space for the city.’ 

The Designs of the Year 2014 jury:     

• Kim Colin, Industrial Facility    
• Ekow Eshun, writer, journalist and broadcaster - Chair of the jury    
• Tina Gaudoin, Acting Editor in Chief of Elle Decoration and independent fashion journalist    
• Piers Gough, CZWG Architects LLP    
• Frith Kerr, Studio Frith    
• Ben Terrett, Government Digital Service

For the first time this year Designs of the Year included a Social Vote – an opportunity for design lovers from all over the world to vote for their favourite nominated design through the exhibition’s online Social Vote platform. Over 18,000 people took part and the final winner was Phonebloks, designed by Dave Hakkens."

2014 Category Winners
2014 Nominations