Trailblazing Architect Zaha Hadid Dies at 65
In 2004, Hadid became the first woman to win architecture’s highest honor, the Pritzker Prize
Mitchell Parker
1 April 2016
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative... More
Zaha Hadid, the Iraqi-British architect whose curvaceous, dreamy, futuristic and ambitious structures helped her become the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the field’s highest honor, died in Miami on Thursday. She suffered a sudden heart attack in a hospital while being treated for bronchitis, according to a statement released by her London office. She was 65.
Riverside Museum, Glasgow, Scotland
Hadid was born in Baghdad in 1950. At the age of 22, she began studying architecture at the Architectural Association in London. Seven years later, in 1979, she opened her own practice in London, but would struggle for more than a decade to gain a commission due to her radical designs.
Once things took off, though, she continued to push the boundaries in her work, with theoretical structures that included The Peak in Hong Kong (1983), the Kurfürstendamm in Berlin (1986) and the Cardiff Bay Opera House in Wales (1994), her office’s statement said. She also held several academic titles at Harvard University, Columbia University and Yale University, among others.
Hadid was born in Baghdad in 1950. At the age of 22, she began studying architecture at the Architectural Association in London. Seven years later, in 1979, she opened her own practice in London, but would struggle for more than a decade to gain a commission due to her radical designs.
Once things took off, though, she continued to push the boundaries in her work, with theoretical structures that included The Peak in Hong Kong (1983), the Kurfürstendamm in Berlin (1986) and the Cardiff Bay Opera House in Wales (1994), her office’s statement said. She also held several academic titles at Harvard University, Columbia University and Yale University, among others.
Vienna University of Economics and Business, Library and Learning Center, Vienna
In 2004, she became the first woman to win the Pritzker, calling the prize “an acknowledgment that [my] work was not in a fantasia…. What was seen 20 years ago as extreme ideas are now actually achievable.”
She also won several other prestigious awards, including the United Kingdom’s top architecture honor, the RIBA Stirling Prize, which Hadid won twice.
In 2004, she became the first woman to win the Pritzker, calling the prize “an acknowledgment that [my] work was not in a fantasia…. What was seen 20 years ago as extreme ideas are now actually achievable.”
She also won several other prestigious awards, including the United Kingdom’s top architecture honor, the RIBA Stirling Prize, which Hadid won twice.
Vienna University of Economics and Business, Library and Learning Center, Vienna
Her stadium design for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo was scrapped last summer amid extremely high projected costs, according to The New York Times. She also designed apartments that will soon border the High Line elevated park in the West Chelsea neighborhood of New York City, the newspaper says.
“She was truly a pioneer in the field of architecture,” said the Pritzker Architecture Prize foundation in a statement. “Zaha Hadid will be remembered for her talent, creativity, commitment, loyalty and friendship.”
Her stadium design for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo was scrapped last summer amid extremely high projected costs, according to The New York Times. She also designed apartments that will soon border the High Line elevated park in the West Chelsea neighborhood of New York City, the newspaper says.
“She was truly a pioneer in the field of architecture,” said the Pritzker Architecture Prize foundation in a statement. “Zaha Hadid will be remembered for her talent, creativity, commitment, loyalty and friendship.”
Pierresvives, Montpellier, France
Details of Hadid’s memorial service will be announced soon through her office’s website.
Details of Hadid’s memorial service will be announced soon through her office’s website.
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She was among the greatest architects of our time. R.I.P.