World renowned architect Zaha Hadid dies at 65
Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid has died at the age of 65. Hadid, whose practice is based in London, was in a Miami hospital being treated for bronchitis when she suffered a heart attack Thursday.
Hadid's work has been commissioned all over the world, from China and Baku to Rome and London, where she built the 2012 Olympic Aquatics Centre. There is no single Hadid style, though her buildings have been described as sculptural, curvaceous, and futuristically smooth. "Her exteriors seem to be shaped by the movement inside and around them, rather than by some predetermined notion of external form," John Seabrook wrote in a 2009 New Yorker profile.
Hadid boldly worked her way through the male-dominated architecture industry. Among her many accolades, she became the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honor, in 2004. And just this year she became the first woman to receive the Royal Institute of British Architects Gold Medal in recognition of her work. Hadid's creations may have been divisive, but there was no denying she pushed the art form to become one of the most influential architects of her time.
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"She was so distinct that there isn't anybody like her," architect Graham Morrison told The Guardian. "She was in a world of her own and she was extraordinary."
