Zaha Hadid (1950 – 2017)
She was one of the greatest architects who ever lived – a futurist whose soaring, undulating designs defied traditional architecture and embraced the digital world. Zaha Hadid was badass – though early in her career she was dismissed as a “paper architect” – someone whose designs never made it off the drawing board. Hard to believe it took six years for one of her projects to finally be realized.
Dominion Office Space / Moscow
Born in Baghdad, raised in the UK, Hadid was virtually ignored by her native Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries until she laid out two of her most famous works at the turn of the 21st century – the MAXXI Museum in Rome and Guangzhou Opera House. After being awarded the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, that all changed.
Performing Arts Center / Abu Dhabi
In 2007, the Middle East finally opened it doors to the world’s most successful woman architect. And Hadid kicked it open wide – pushing the boundaries of modern architecture through mathematics, logic and abstract design. She also made political statements with her projects – thumbing her nose at contemporary Arab architecture mimicking sand dunes and Bedouin forms.
“The period we live in now is dealing with a group of serious social complications,” said Hadid. “These complications, in light of the dynamic of contemporary life, cannot be addressed through traditional construction using networks inherited from the 20th century.”
King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station / Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
16 projects in the works, a soaring design career – and a sudden end. Zaha Hadid’s unexpected death in March 2017 left an amazingly deep hole in the architecture world. Much of her work is just starting to be recognized, but those who collaborated with Hadid are taking her ideas on architecture and algorithms to the next level.
Heydar Aliyev Center / Baku, Azerbaijan
“Long after the novelty of her gender fades from the public’s mind, she will be remembered for the swooping, sumptuous monumentality of her buildings, says Tegan Bukowski, architect for Zaha Hadid Architects in London. “Her work will tinue… But her death (is) an irreplaceable loss, not just for those of us in her studio, but for an entire generation of architects.”
The Opus Towers / Dubai’s Business Bay.
A permanent, posthumous memorial to Zaha Hadid will be placed at the Towers.. Take a look at this absorbing interview in Phaidon with Zaha Hadid on the perils of paper architecture, career setbacks and the future of design.
