Heydar Aliyev Center

The Heydar Aliyev Center is a cultural complex on Heydar Aliyev Avenue in Baku, Azerbaijan, named for the country's former president Heydar Aliyev, who led Azerbaijan from 1993 to 2003. It was designed by the architect Zaha Hadid with Patrik Schumacher and opened in 2012, after a construction period that began in 2007 on the site of a former Soviet-era parade ground. The building is known for its flowing, wave-like white form, in which the plaza and walls rise in continuous curves, and it avoids sharp corners and visible joints, and the design is often treated as a landmark of neofuturist architecture. It won the Design Museum's Design of the Year award in 2014. The structure combines a concrete frame with a space-frame steel system, and the surface is clad in glass-fibre reinforced concrete and glass-fibre reinforced polyester panels. Inside, the centre contains a museum dedicated to Heydar Aliyev's life and presidency, galleries for temporary art and design exhibitions, a large auditorium of about 1,000 seats, a conference hall and a library. Permanent displays include a hall of folk instruments and a section on Azerbaijani culture and history, and exhibition programmes have included contemporary art, fashion and design. The curatorial approach is thematic and uses multimedia, with some rooms organised around personal and political history of the Aliyev era. A park area surrounds the building, and the plaza is popular for photography, especially at sunset when the building is lit. Maintenance of the unusual facade is demanding, and cleaning crews are often seen working on it. The centre is a recognisable symbol of modern, independent Azerbaijan, and it stands in contrast to the older stone monuments of the Old City. Visitors should note that tickets are required for the museum exhibitions but the exterior is free.