Zaha Hadid DBE |
|
---|---|
Hadid in 2010
|
|
Born |
Zaha Mohammad Hadid 31 October 1950 Baghdad, Iraq |
Died | 31 March 2016 Miami, Florida, US |
(aged 65)
Nationality | British, Iraqi |
Alma mater |
American University of Beirut Architectural Association School of Architecture, London |
Occupation | Architect |
Website | www |
Practice | Zaha Hadid Architects |
Buildings | MAXXI, Bridge Pavilion, Maggie's Centre, Contemporary Arts Center |
Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid, DBE, RA (Arabic: زها حديد Zahā Ḥadīd; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect. She was the first woman to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize, in 2004. 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 2015 she became the first woman to be awarded the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects.
She was described by the The Guardian of London as the 'Queen of the curve', who "liberated architectural geometry, giving it a whole new expressive identity." Her major works include the aquatic centre for the London 2012 Olympics, Michigan State University's Broad Art Museum in the US, and the Guangzhou Opera House in China. Some of her designs have been presented posthumously, including the statuette for the 2017 Brit Awards, and many of her buildings are still under construction, including the Al Wakrah Stadium in Doha, a venue for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Hadid was born on 31 October 1950 in Baghdad, Iraq, to an upper-class Iraqi family. Her father, Muhammad al-Hajj Husayn Hadid, was a wealthy industrialist from Mosul. He co-founded the left-liberal al-Ahali group in 1932, a significant political organisation in the 1930s and 1940s. He was the co-founder of the National Democratic Party in Iraq. Her mother, Wajiha al-Sabunji, was an artist from Mosul. In the 1960s Hadid attended boarding schools in England and Switzerland.