Zaha Hadid’s Last (and Only) Private Home Was Built for the ‘Russian James Bond’

Her words, not ours

April 17, 2018 9:00 am

Who built the home where the purveyor of the finest rooms in the world lays his head at night?

That’d be the late Iraqi-British Zaha Hadid, who designed this bizarre, proto-Enterprise D-looking house in a forest outside Moscow, and for none other than Russian businessman Aman Vladislav Doronin, namesake and owner of Aman Resorts, perhaps the ritziest hotel chain on earth.

The Capital Hill Residence is the sole completed private domicile the late architect designed, and her client is utterly elated. Talking to Dezeen about the process of working with Hadid, he said, “For this particular home I wanted not only a sanctuary to escape to, above the treetops, but also a great entertainment space. Zaha’s vision allowed me to have all I wanted for this home.”

Zaha Hadid (5 images)

And what he wanted, it seems, was a suite atop a concrete stalk, peering over the treetops. A pool (as you do). Lounge. Library … all wrapped in a singular, $97M package, as concieved by a visionary mind.

Hadid was the 2004 winner of the Pritzker Prize, the architecture world’s most prestigious award, and the first woman to be so honored. Her work is alternately loved and — because the art/architecture world lends itself to hubris and strong opinion — hated, for its expressive, unusual language.

Regardless, the firm continues to produce thought-provoking work under the leadership of her partner, Patrik Schumacher.

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