Paola Cattarin

ABOUT

Paola joined Zaha Hadid Architects in 1999 and was made Director in 2019. Having worked on a wide range of projects around the world, Paola’s expertise spans across design, project management and the overall management of the office. Paola’s upbringing in Rome, surrounded by its layered history, shaped her passion for urban transformation and adaptive reuse, which continues to inspire her designs. She has shared her expertise extensively, lecturing on architecture, urban design, and her work with Zaha Hadid Architects across Europe and Asia. Paola has extensive design and delivery project experience, from masterplan to retro fit projects. Her leadership skills encompass project oversight, team management, and strategic resource allocation, ensuring seamless project execution from concept to completion.

PROJECTS TO BE PRESENTED DURING THE EVENT

Project #1: Romeo Hotel

Start year: 21.01.2015

The classical interpretation of Rome as a palimpsest of architectural layers—Baroque buildings atop Renaissance and medieval structures, themselves atop their Roman predecessors—includes a final layer of verticality: ceilings of painted trompe l’oeil arches, heavenly vaults and celestial chambers populated with ascendant saints, martyrs and putti. From the very beginning of her career, Zaha Hadid sited her buildings in the air, floating buildings on shadow, light, and seams of space that lifted volumes above the ground, relating her work to another tradition—Rome’s. Hadid, and the city’s architects of the Renaissance and Baroque that preceded her, aspired to the air, the skies, and the heavens. In designing the hotel conversion of the Palazzo Capponi, on the Via di Ripetta, a branch of the city’s Sistine Trident radiating from the Piazza del Popolo, Hadid and her team at Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) led by Paola Cattarin, started where Baroque architects ended their palimpsest—at the vaulted ceilings. As Cattarin notes, Rome’s architectural history can be read in its masonry vaults, from the Roman, through the Renaissance and Baroque periods, into the 18th Century: “We took inspiration from this idea, to make a new interpretation of vaults and their intersections. All the different rooms, down to the furniture, are designed with this concept.”

Project #2: Discovery City Masterplan

Start year: 21.09.2024

Following a competition, Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), in collaboration with JLand Group Sdn Bhd (JLG), have been chosen to design Discovery City in Johor, Malaysia. The disctrict is expected to be to be a visionary 582-acre mixed-use precinct within the expansive Ibrahim Technoloplis in Johor. As ZHA’s inaugural project in Malaysia, Discovery City aims to boast a blend of innovative design and sustainability, blending with the region’s landscapes. Zaha Hadid Architects is currently leading the design of Discovery City, including the cultural center, which will serve as the focal point of the masterplan and represent ZHA’s first completed building in Malaysia. The architectural vision for Discovery City aims to emphasize a deep connection with Johor’s natural environment, in line with IBTEC’s overarching goal of fostering a circular city where innovation and sustainability thrive. ZHA’s approach will prioritize ecological sustainability, integrating smart city technologies, and minimizing environmental impact. The masterplan plans to showcase advanced design and construction methods, utilizing locally sourced and recycled materials, renewable energy generation, and rainwater harvesting to significantly reduce energy and water consumption.