In the tenth anniversary year of her passing, the Zaha Hadid Foundation begins an exciting new chapter in London with the reopening of its newly refurbished building at 10 Bowling Green Lane, Clerkenwell, which will open to the public on 3 November 2026. The former Victorian schoolhouse was home to the boundary-breaking architect’s practice for more than 30 years.
The refurbishment, by London-based Studio KA, highlights Zaha’s extraordinary legacy while placing it in dialogue with leading and emerging voices of today. At the heart of the Foundation is Zaha Hadid’s extraordinary archive, a profound record of her work, ideas and creative life. The newly reopened building includes galleries, a learning space, lecture hall and collection display, alongside other spaces where the Foundation will host exhibitions, talks, workshops and creative residencies in what aims to be a dynamic new hub for architecture and design in London. More details on the opening programme are below.
The reopening coincides with a new visual identity by Amsterdam-based design studio Experimental Jetset, and a new website by Made by ON. It will also be marked by 89° of Zaha Hadid, a two-day symposium on 30 and 31 October 2026 (the latter being what would have been Zaha’s 76th birthday) organised by the Zaha Hadid Foundation, the Architectural Association and Serpentine, taking place across all three partner venues.
“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,” says Rana Hadid, Chair of the Trustees of the Zaha Hadid Foundation. “At the heart of that mission is her extraordinary archive, a profound record of her work, imagination and intellectual life. 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.”
“Our aim is to reinforce Zaha’s legacy as a living one – one that yields new insights into her life and work through the archive, while continuing to engage with new voices, emerging talents and the wider field that she so passionately cared about,” says Aric Chen, Director of the Zaha Hadid Foundation. “These milestones will help the Foundation become an active contributor to architecture culture today, both through the enormous contributions that Zaha made in her lifetime, and through the broader ethos of experimentation that we intend to carry on.”
Refurbishment, Visual Identity, Website
Led by Katherine Nolan and Alex Butterworth, Studio KA has undertaken a sensitive refurbishment of the ground floor of 10 Bowling Green Lane, a Grade II-listed schoolhouse built in the early 1870s, that includes restoring some of the building’s original features while opening up and reconfiguring its spaces to greatly improve circulation, functionality and visitor experience. New flooring and other finishes have been applied throughout, often drawing from colours found in Zaha’s paintings, while maintaining traces of the building’s history: original features such as a fireplace and arched doorways have been reopened, while details implemented by Zaha – like Z-shaped door pulls and shard-like flooring insets – have been preserved.
The refurbished space is also home to Zaha Hadid Design, and features furniture and objects designed by Zaha and her studio.
The renovation was generously supported by Vitra, Viabizzuno, izé, Roca, Forbo and Tyréns AKT, with additional support from Kvadrat, Shading Specialists, Swanmac and Solus Ceramics.
Amsterdam-based studio Experimental Jetset have developed a dynamic system, or “visual language,” drawn from Zaha’s legacy of experimentation, transformation and continuous questioning of established ideas. Moving beyond a conventional logo-led approach, the new language uses a flexible typographic system, perpetually mutated by a distorting grid, that evolves and transforms across the Foundation’s programmes and communications.
The Foundation also launched a completely redesigned website, www.zhfoundation.com, by London-based agency Made by ON. Integrating Experimental Jetset’s visual language, the new platform provides a more comprehensive overview of the Foundation’s activities and programmes, as well as an improved interface for exploring its archive.
