The Zaha Hadid Foundation is set to begin a new chapter with the reopening of its newly refurbished building in London as a public cultural space. The former Victorian schoolhouse, located at 10 Bowling Green Lane, was home to the boundary-breaking architect’s practice for over 30 years.
The refurbishment, led by Studio KA, marks a new phase for the Foundation, opening the building up as a public cultural space for architecture, design, and related arts. The newly reopened building will feature galleries, a learning space, lecture hall, and collection display, alongside other spaces for exhibitions, talks, workshops, and creative residencies.
The reopening coincides with the tenth anniversary of Zaha Hadid’s passing and will be marked by a two-day symposium, “89° of Zaha Hadid,” organized by the Zaha Hadid Foundation, Architectural Association, and Serpentine. The symposium will take place across all three partner venues on October 30 and 31, 2026, the latter being what would have been Zaha’s 76th birthday.
Refurbishment and New Visual Identity
The refurbishment of the ground floor of 10 Bowling Green Lane includes restoring some of the building’s original features while opening up and reconfiguring its spaces to improve circulation, functionality, and visitor experience. New flooring and finishes have been applied throughout, often drawing from colors found in Zaha’s paintings, while maintaining traces of the building’s history.
The Foundation is also launching a new visual identity, developed by Amsterdam-based studio Experimental Jetset, which uses a flexible typographic system, perpetually mutated by a distorting grid, to evolve and transform across the Foundation’s programs and communications. A new website, www.zhfoundation.com, will provide a more full overview of the Foundation’s activities and programs.
Rana Hadid, Chair of the Trustees of the Zaha Hadid Foundation, says, “It was Zaha’s wish for the Foundation to preserve her legacy while carrying her ideas forward: advancing education, supporting future generations and contributing to the wider field of architecture.” Aric Chen, Director of the Zaha Hadid Foundation, adds, “This next step will allow us to safeguard that archive, open it to wider audiences, and create new opportunities for learning, scholarship and creative discovery, ensuring that Zaha’s ideas continue to inspire generations to come.”
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The newly refurbished building will open to the public on November 3, 2026, with an exhibition, “Zaha Hadid: Architecture of Performance,” curated by Catherine Howe and Guest Curator Libby Sellers. It explores Zaha’s stage and set designs for contemporary dance, classical opera, and pop music. Another exhibition, “The Rebar Beneath” by LionHeart, features a dual-channel video work questioning how form, perception, and unseen structures shape our understanding of the world.
Pulitzer Prize-winning illustrator Mona Chalabi has been commissioned to create a timeline visualization of Zaha’s life, work, and influence, which will be installed in the Foundation’s foyer. The timeline will explore key moments in Zaha’s life alongside her vast creative output across architecture, interiors, furniture, education, exhibitions, product, fashion, and more.
The Foundation’s collection and archive will be maintained, disseminated, and activated through public programs, education, and emerging voices. It will partner with organizations from its base in London and around the world. The refurbished building at 10 Bowling Green Lane will serve as a dynamic new hub for architecture and design in London.
The Foundation’s exhibition, “Zaha Hadid: Architecture of Performance,” will feature projects spanning from Zaha’s d1 collaboration with British choreographer Rosemary Butcher to her reimagining of Mozart’s Così fan tutte at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
The building’s address is 10 Bowling Green Lane, London, EC1R 0BQ, and it will be open to the public from November 3, 2026.
