For this outstanding architect, this is the first award after three nominations that ended in nothing: for the central building of the BMW plant in Leipzig in 2005, the Feno science center in Wolfsburg in 2006 and the Hungerburgbahn-Nordpark cable car in Innsbruck in 2008. The jury noted her museum as a mature work, which reflected the techniques characteristic of Hadid, in particular, the solution of the building as a landscape object.
At the same time, one cannot fail to note the contradictory reaction of criticism to the MAXXI officially opened this spring (which was not the case for its three previously nominated buildings): first of all, the building is reproached for non-functionality - it is difficult to place works of art on curved walls, a harsh and acutely original appearance the premises of the museum distracts the visitor from the exhibits; in the vicinity of such architecture, they are lost. As an excuse for Zaha Hadid, one can recall that the museum, during her work on his project and even later, existed more as an idea than a specific institution: its collection is still being formed, it is not clear what exactly and how will be shown there (this museum of art of the XXI century, but so far, for obvious reasons, works of the twentieth century prevail in its collection). The lack of technical specifications, which complicated the matter, was noted by the jury as a successfully overcome obstacle, but, nevertheless, one cannot but perceive the awarding of Hadid as formal: the jury did not feel entitled to deprive this leading British architect of the award for the fourth time, so the quality of this particular work played only a limited role. …
Rick Mater's redevelopment of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, won the Stirling Prize in a survey of RIBA members and the general public among the shortlisted buildings. However, their choice was determined by the fact that this undoubtedly very worthy work was the only one of the six finalist buildings easily accessible inside and outside for everyone. Two other British applicants are schools, one is a private commercial building, and two undoubted "favorites" - MAXXI and the New Museum in Berlin by David Chipperfield - are located outside of England. Observers predicted an award for the last building since its opening in the fall of 2009, but as formal as Hadid's victory was, Chipperfield's loss with his main building to date (or even in general) was just as formal: he received the award relatively recently, in 2007, and also for a museum in Germany.
