I write this post after learning that the great architect Zaha Hadid died today only 65 years old. I have only visited two of her buildings, MAXXI in Rome and the Riverside Museum in Glasgow. The images are from the last one, as it was both the first one I had the chance to experience and also the one that made the strongest impression. Both as architecture and as museum.

Glasgow has an industrial history, with shipbuilding as one of the main industries by the river Clyde alongside shipping companies. After many decades of decline leaving the area desolated it is now completely reconstructed, or gentrified if you like, making Clyde more accessible for the citizens. A part of this process was getting a beloved museum new facilities. The Glasgow Museum of Transport (opened in 1964) is one of the most visited museums in the UK and it opened its third building, designed as a wave by Hadid, in June 2011. 

It is a fantastic building! Not just as an architectural fantasy, but as a house for the collection. All items are exposed with both wit and knowledge and create active visitors. I thought only the building would interest me, but it (together with the work of the museum curators) made the history of bikes, cars and trams exciting.

Thank you Zaha Hadid for your work. Rest in peace.