Lord Foster and Zaha Hadid ‘asked to redevelop Mecca’
Lord Foster and Zaha Hadid, two of Britain’s best-known architects, are reported to be candidates for potentially the world’s biggest building project: redesigning Mecca.
The two architects are reported to be among a group of 18 who have been approached over a commission to redevelop Islam’s holiest city, which is in Saudi Arabia’s Makkah Province.
Authorities from the city are seeking a design for a complex of mosques capable of holding three million people. About that number visit the city each year during the Hajj pilgramage, which all Muslims are supposed to make at least once in their lifetime.
The pick of Lord Foster, a non Muslim, is not without controversy.
Makkah Redevelopment Project 2008 – 2020 in Photos:
I think the article meant Sir Norman Foster from Foster + Partners. The title ‘Lord’ suggests he was a royal, but Foster was knighted by the Queen for his achievement in architectural works (just like Sir Paul McCartney or Sir Elton John).
Anyway, the combo of Foster and Hadid is a weird one, considering the two have two totally different aesthetic approach as well as design signatures. I can imagine Foster for Makkah redevelopment project, but not Hadid (even though she’s from Iran) because her style is very ‘organic’. From the models above, I don’t see Hadid’s signature.
Interesting article.