She made her way to the world, overcoming all the difficulties and challenges she faced in a male ruled environment, she excelled in her creativity and artistry in this universe that connects aesthetics, geometry, numbers and arithmetic equations. She amazed the world with her unusual and imaginative designs, leaving her mark on the European and world architecture.
Zaha Hadid studied mathematics at the American University of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, before joining the Architectural Association in London, of which she became one of the professors, she was appointed full professor positions in several universities in Europe and America, including Harvard, Columbia University, Chicago university Hamburg, and Ohio.
Zaha Hadid has produced numerous international designs such as the ice skating platform in Innsbruck Austria, the Guangzhou Opera House in China, in Cardiff the capital of Wales, as well as the National Museum of 21st Century Art. century in Rome (MAXXI), Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, and a High Line complex in Manhattan.
Zaha also designed the Aquatic Center for the London Olympics in 2012, the Al-Wakrah Stadium in Qatar designated to host the World Cup in 2022. Her projects are like spaceships that fly without the influence of gravity in a vast space, in which there is no high or low part, because they are buildings that appear as if they were in fluid movement in the surrounding space. Their quirky touches with an imagination imbued with freedom, modernity clearly seen in famous buildings spread across the world, her designs know no bounds. Hadid implemented 950 projects in 44 countries and her work felt like a revolution against the traditional, as she was not only an architect, her work gave the impression of a state of extreme fascination, where nothing is to its place, being a clear and explicit reflection of the philosophy of decentralization to become its own identity.
Awards
In 2015, the Iraqi engineer won «The Royal Gold Medal for Architecture», the first woman to receive this royal honor. In 2010 she won the British Stirling Prize, one of the most important international prizes in the field of engineering. The French Medal of Honor for Arts and Letters at the rank of Commander. UNESCO qualifies her as an artist for peace.
She also received the Pritzker Prize in 2004, which is considered the «Nobel» of architecture. After receiving the award, she said, «I believe that the complexities and dynamics of modern life cannot be reversed into classical forms.» Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world, Hadid’s designs shine like rare and legendary gems wherever they are, as architects and designers describe her as the great architect, the «superstar «, the paper engineer, the queen of curves, as she seeks to change the world from ordinary thinking to digital thinking.
The famous architect Peter Cook said: «Zaha Hadid entered areas where few people dared to enter».
One of Zaha Hadid’s most famous sayings, I don’t think architecture is just a shelter, it’s not just a fence, but this shelter has to be a place of enthusiasm , calm for the nerves and reflection.
Death
Zaha Hadid passed away at the age of 65 on March 31, 2016 in Miami Hospital , USA, after suffering from pneumonia, followed by a heart attack. Mayor of London Boris Johnson mourned it on Twitter: «I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Zaha Hadid, whose legacy lives on in magnificent buildings in Stratford and around the world.» The icon of architecture has passed away, leaving behind testimonies and figures that cannot disappear over time. The works of Zaha Hadid will remain extraordinary ambassadors in all the capitals of the world, telling the story of an oriental woman who amazed the world with her engineering.
