ZAHA MOHAMMAD HADID, OBE, HFAIA (1950-2016)

Hadid was born in Baghdad, Iraq, to an upper-class Iraqi family. She attended boarding schools in England and Switzerland, then studied mathematics at the American University of Beirut before attending the London Architectural Association School of Architecture in 1972. There she met Rem Koolhaas, Elia Zenghelis and Bernard Tschumi. She worked for Koolhaas in Rotterdam, becoming a partner in his firm OMA in 1977.  Hadid established her own London architecture practice in 1980. Her acclaimed work included the aquatic center for the London 2012 Olympics, the Broad Art Museum, and the Guangzhou Opera House among many others. Hadid was active outside of architecture, creating interiors, furniture, fashion, even brassware.  Like most starchitects, she was demanding and difficult to deal with - and she suffered for this as her male counterparts were praised for the same behaviors.

 Hadid died of a heart attack in a Miami hospital where she was being treated for bronchitis. She was honored by many organizations around the world. In 2004, she was the first Arab woman to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize. She received the Stirling Prize in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, she was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and in 2015 she became the first woman to be awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in her own right. Bio adapted from Wikipedia.

1993 - IBA Housing at Dessauer Street 40, Berlin, Germany. Photo by Christian Ritchers.  Commissioned 1986.