Looking Back

Philip Michael Wolfson, the artist, designer and architect speaks on running Zaha Hadid’s studio in the 1980s

- Rima Alsammarae

“Some of the most famous architects today were just starting to teach there,” says Philip Michael Wolfson, as he recalled joining the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London in the late 1970s. A third-year student from Cornell University in New York, Wolfson’s move to London and his studies at the prestigious institution granted him an environment that was stimulating, exciting and creative.

“It was a great period,” he says, “and the atmosphere was fabulous. Everyone hung out with each other, from the staff to the students – there was no segregation. You had studio spaces, where you could draw but they were basically just this mishmash of underground caves.”

Born in Philadelphia to a NASA engineer, the multidisciplinary designer is known for experimental furniture pieces that are akin to fine art structures, made through his namesake studio, established in 1991. Working across Europe and North America, Wolfson also delivered residential interiors and showcased his pieces at leading international art and design exhibitions, galleries and public venues.

Inspired by 20th century modernist movements like constructivism and futurism, his designs are fluid, forceful and, at times, delicate. Before his solo career, though, he worked closely with one of the world’s most renowned architects – Zaha Hadid – and led her design studio in the 1980s when she was just establishing herself, her name and her work.