Zaha Hadid

For the architectural firm, see Zaha Hadid Architects.

Dame
Zaha Hadid
DBE RA
Hadid in 2013
Born
Zaha Mohammad Hadid

(1950-10-31)31 October 1950
Baghdad, Iraq
Died31 March 2016(2016-03-31) (aged 65)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Nationality
  • Iraq
  • United Kingdom
Alma materAmerican University of Beirut
Architectural Association School of Architecture
OccupationArchitect
Parent(s)Mohammed Hadid
Wajeeha Sabonji
PracticeZaha Hadid Architects
BuildingsVitra Fire Station, MAXXI, Bridge Pavilion, Contemporary Arts Center, Heydar Aliyev Center, Riverside Museum
Websitewww.zaha-hadid.com

Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid DBE RA (Arabic: زها حديد Zahā Ḥadīd; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a key figure in architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born in Baghdad, Iraq,[1] Hadid studied mathematics as an undergraduate and then enrolled at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in 1972. In search of an alternative system to traditional architectural drawing, and influenced by Suprematism and the Russian avant-garde, Hadid adopted painting as a design tool and abstraction as an investigative principle to "reinvestigate the aborted and untested experiments of Modernism [...] to unveil new fields of building".[2]

She was described by The Guardian as the "Queen of Curves",[3] who "liberated architectural geometry, giving it a whole new expressive identity".[4] Her major works include the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympics, the Broad Art Museum, Rome's MAXXI Museum, and the Guangzhou Opera House.[5] Some of her awards have been presented posthumously, including the statuette for the 2017 Brit Awards. With several awards and accolades to her name, she has also been recognized by the 2013 Forbes List as one of the "World's Most Powerful Women"[6][7][8] Several of her buildings were still under construction at the time of her death, including the Daxing International Airport in Beijing, and the Al Wakrah Stadium (now Al Janoub) in Qatar, a venue for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[9][10][11]

Hadid was the first woman to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize, in 2004.[12] She received the UK's most prestigious architectural award, the Stirling Prize, in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, she was made a Dame by Elizabeth II for services to architecture, and in February 2016, the month preceding her death,[13] she became the first woman to be individually awarded the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects (Ray Eames and Sheila O'Donnell had previously been awarded it jointly with Charles Eames and John Tuomey respectively).[14][15]

  1. ^ "Zaha Hadid | Biography, Buildings, Architecture, Death, & Facts | Britannica". britannica.com. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  2. ^ Serrazanetti, Francesca; Schubert, Matteo, eds. (2011). Zaha Hadid: Inspiration and Process in Architecture. China: Moleskine. p. 56. ISBN 9788866130048. Technology's rapid development and our ever-changing lifestyles created a fundamentally new and exhilarating backdrop for building, and in this new world context I felt we must reinvestigate the aborted and untested experiments of Modernism – not to resurrect them, but to unveil new fields of building.
  3. ^ "Queen of the curve' Zaha Hadid died at aged 65 from heart attack". The Guardian. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  4. ^ Kimmelman, Michael (31 March 2016). "Zaha Hadid, Groundbreaking Architect, Dies at 65". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  5. ^ Kamin, Blair (1 April 2016). "Visionary architect 1st woman to win Pritzker". Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  6. ^ "Zaha Hadid, architect of MSU's Broad Art Museum, dies". 31 March 2016.
  7. ^ https://www.zaha-hadid.com/awards/forbes-100-most-powerful-women/ [bare URL]
  8. ^ "Zaha Hadid: A Woman's Perspective on Architecture". 15 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Dame Zaha Hadid's Brit Awards statuette design unveiled". BBC News. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference FIFA 2022 Stadium was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Johnson, Ian (24 November 2018). "Big New Airport Shows China's Strengths (and Weaknesses)". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  12. ^ Nonie Niesewand (March 2015). "Through the Glass Ceiling". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  13. ^ "Zaha Hadid receives Royal Gold Medal". architecture.com.
  14. ^ "Dame Zaha Hadid awarded the Riba Gold Medal for architecture". BBC News. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Zaha Hadid-2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).