Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid
Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid, DBEwas an Iraqi-born British architect. She was the first Arab woman who received the Pritzker Architecture Prize, winning it in 2004. She received the Stirling Prize in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, she was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and in 2015 she became the first woman to be awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in her own right...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionArchitect
Date of Birth31 October 1950
CityBaghdad, Iraq
icons people design
People say I design architectural icons. If I design a building and it becomes an icon, that's ok.
nice thinking cities
It's very important for cities all around the world to reinvent themselves, and Glasgow is a good example of that. The Scots are very nice. I don't think they are burdened by their history.
sensitive conscious knows
I am quite sensitive to politics, because you know, as an Arab, an Iraqi, all your life, you are very conscious of it.
uniforms firsts mao
When I first came to Guangzhou in 1981, it seemed such a hard and dour place with everyone in Chairman Mao uniforms.
taught cautious
Being Iraqi taught me to be very cautious.
britain-and-america quality building
What's similar between Britain and America is the lack of good-quality civic buildings.
museums london gallery
There are so many great galleries and museums in London, but they can be very crowded during the day.
office focus used
I can't focus when there's too many things around. Whenever I used to go to the office, I used to always say, 'Tidy up.'
father party leader
My father was a politician, and a very important politician, and one of the leaders of the Iraqi Democratic Party, who believed in progress.
adventure avant-garde spirit
The spirit of adventure to embrace the new and the incredible belief in the power of invention attracted me to the Russian avant-garde.
london exciting
I loved London. In the 1970s... it was very exciting, really wild.
very-good skyscraper i-can
I am sure that as a woman I can do a very good skyscraper.
looks architecture architect
It's not my duty as an architect to look at it
dare designers fabrics japanese pieces wear
I have always appreciated designers who dare to reinterpret fabrics and proportions, so I follow the Japanese and Belgian designers. The pieces are so animated. When they lie still, they are one thing, but once you stand them up or wear them, they become something else.