At once standing out and blending in, Zaha Hadid’s one and only residential project now stands a finished testament to her architectural brilliance.
The Capital Hill Residence rests in the Barvikha Forest outside of Moscow, leaning in with the gentle slope of the area but also towering atop of it in a striking evocation of a spaceship. Reportedly worth $140 million, the home sprawls on some 36,000 square feet, owned by international real estate developer Vladislav Doronin, whom Hadid called the “Russian James Bond.”
The project sprang up from a serendipitous meeting between Doronin and Hadid in London over 10 years ago, Doronin said in a video about the house. Bonded over their mutual appreciation for art and design, they spent hours talking – a time in which Doronin decided to trust the British-Iraqi architect with the conception and creation of his home.
The result, finally revealed earlier this month, astounds. Just like Hadid's commercial masterpieces, the Capital Hill Residence evokes a sense of movement and fluidity that commands the whole area. The upper floor, which accommodates the master suite, rises above the tree tops to reveal mesmerizing vistas through floor-to-ceiling windows and a couple of balconies.
A column, hiding a glass-walled elevator and a stairway, races to the lower stories, where luxurious living spaces, including guest bedrooms and a library, unfold. Leisure facilities such as a swimming pool, a gym and a space complete the extraordinary house, which reached its completion some two years after the death of the first female Pritzker Award recipient.
