Architect
Dame Zaha Hadid, designer of the London Olympic Aquatic Centre, has died
aged 65.
Born in Iraq, Zaha Hadid, winner of the Royal Institute of British
Architects Gold medal in recognition for her work, has passed away after
a heart attack on Thursday in a Miami hospital where she was being
treated for bronchitis.
In 2014, she designed the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, which won the
Design Museum Design of the Year Award, making her the first woman to
win the top prize in that competition. The architect also designed the
Aquatics Centre for the London Olympics and was behind projects
throughout the world.
Dame Zaha, who recently won the RIBA Gold Medal, became one of the most
influential architects in the world designing buildings such as the
MAXXI museum in Rome, as well as the Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton,
the Riverside Museum in Glasgow, and the Maggie’s Centre in Kirkcaldy.
Dame Zaha’s other creations include the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in
London and Guangzhou Opera House in China. She was made a Dame in 2012
for services to architecture.
Jane Duncan, RIBA’s president, said: “Dame Zaha Hadid was an
inspirational woman, and the kind of architect one can only dream of
being. Visionary and highly experimental, her legacy, despite her young
age, is formidable. “She leaves behind a body of work from buildings to
furniture, footwear and cars, that delight and astound people all around
the world. The world of architecture has lost a star today.”
Richard Rogers, whose buildings include the Pompidou Centre and the
Millennium Dome, said: ““She was a great architect, a wonderful woman
and wonderful person. “Among architects emerging in the last few
decades, no one had any more impact than she did. She fought her way
through as a woman. She was the first woman to win the Pritzker prize.
“I got involved with her first in Cardiff when the government threw her
off the project in the most disgraceful way. She has had to fight every
inch of the way. It is a great loss.”