Zaha Hadid's Former London Headquarters to Open as Public Arts Venue

The Zaha Hadid Foundation will open a public arts venue next month inside the former London headquarters of the late architect's eponymous studio, which occupied the Clerkenwell building for more than 30 years.

The venue sits within a Grade II-listed Victorian school at 10 Bowling Green Lane and will function as what the foundation calls "a dynamic new hub for architecture and design".

Architecture practice Studio KA refurbished the ground floor, opening up the interior to improve circulation and restoring original building features. Fireplaces and doorways have been reopened, and details installed under Hadid herself, including Z-shaped door pulls, have been preserved.

What will the new venue host?

Zaha Hadid Foundation director Aric Chen said: "We're thrilled to see this next evolution for the Foundation at 10 Bowling Green Lane, from what was Zaha's home base to a new home for architecture and design in London."

Chen added: "It will be where Zaha's legacy will live on both through our programmes and exhibitions drawn from her archive, and through her forward-looking ethos as we actively engage with architectural culture today."

The inaugural programme includes:

• A two-day symposium organised with the Architectural Association and the Serpentine Galleries to mark the foundation's tenth anniversary.
• A collection-based exhibition, curated by Catherine Howe and Libby Sellers, dedicated to stage and set designs by Hadid and her studio.
• An 11-minute video installation by London-based artist LionHeart.
• A timeline of Hadid's life, work and influence by Pulitzer Prize-winning illustrator Mona Chalabi.

Events will take place across newly completed galleries and display areas, alongside a learning space and lecture hall that will host future exhibitions, talks, workshops and creative residencies.

Why is the foundation rebranding now?

Alongside the venue, the foundation has rebranded its visual identity with Amsterdam-based design studio Experimental Jetset, and it will launch a new website built by technology agency Made by ON.

The Zaha Hadid Foundation was founded by Hadid in 2013, three years before her death in 2016.

The venue's opening follows a period of friction over the architect's legacy. Earlier this year, studio principal Patrik Schumacher renamed the practice ZHA after the conclusion of a legal battle with the foundation.

With exhibitions, commissions and residencies now programmed for the Bowling Green Lane building, the foundation positions the former studio as the permanent public home for Hadid's archive and an active venue for contemporary architectural debate.