Zaha Hadid was born in Iraq, an architect of world renown, receiving her education in Beirut. Flamboyant in her elegant design schemes, she was affectionately known as “Queen of the Curve”.
Transcending the previously male-dominated architecture world, she was awarded the 2004 Pritzker Prize as well as the 2016 gold medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects.
The industry was at first biased against her, as her vision was beyond that which had ever been seen before. She was on faculty at the Yale School of Architecture, as a Visiting Professor. Colleagues stated that she was annoyed by the fact that she was considered an “exceptional” architect simply because she was a woman.
One of her designs was the London Aquatics Center, of Olympic Game renown in 2012, as well as Beijing’s Galaxy Soho, Cincinnati’s Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, and Azerbaijan’s Heydar Aliyev Center. In these examples, Hadid’s unique interest in parametric form show through well.
One of the pieces that most established her voice and creative process was never actually built. The winning proposal for a private health club, to be situated in Kowloon, was said to be a connection between Hadid’s hand and her mind.
Hadid passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack, at the age of 65, in Miami, Florida.
