Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid 1950-, British architect, b. Baghdad, studied American Univ., Beirut (1968-71); Architectural Association School, London (grad. 1977). A partner in Rem Koolhaas 's Office for Metropolitan Architecture (1977-79), she established her own practice in 1979. A provocative theorist, Hadid has created innovative designs that stretch the boundaries of contemporary architecture with their spatial audacity, dynamic forms, horizontal elongations, and radical adaptations to landscape or urban setting. While Hadid won many awards and became extremely influential with young architects, few of her larger 20th-century projects, e.g., Peak Club, Hong Kong (1983), and Cardiff Bay Opera House, Wales (1995), were ever built, and most that were built were quite small, e.g., Monsoon Restaurant, Sapporo, Japan (1990), and Vitra Firehouse, Weil am Rhein, Germany (1993). She achieved international acclaim for her first American project (and the first major U.S. museum designed by a woman), Cincinnati's Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art (2003). Her recent commissions include Germany's Phaeno Science Center, Wolfsburg, and BMW Central Building, Leipzig (both: 2005); Rome's National Center of Contemporary Arts; and others worldwide. Hadid was the first woman to win (2004) the prestigious Pritzker Prize .

Bibliography: See A. Betsky, Zaha Hadid: The Complete Work (1998); P. Noever, ed., Zaha Hadid: Architecture (2003); G. F. Giusti, Zaha Hadid (2004); T. Sakamoto, Zaha Hadid: Works (CD-ROM, 2003).