Zaha Hadid
Born in Baghdad, a naturalised British citizen, Zaha Hadid (1950-2016) is one of the best-known figures on today’s architecture scene, for her attractive, high impact, versatile and evocative style.
She studied mathematics in Beirut in the seventies and then studied architecture in London; after opening her own practice in the British capital (1980) she received her first important international commission in 1983, winning the competition for The Peak Leisure Club in Hong Kong.
The project, which was never built, stands out for the drawings and paintings the architect produced, revealing her exceptional creativity, the thoroughness of her research and her desire to measure herself against spatial limitations and go beyond them, moving away from the classic schemes.
The particular creative approach that came to be Zaha Hadid’s hallmark in subsequent decades has led to numerous retrospective exhibitions of her architectural projects (including sketches, paintings and animations) in prominent contemporary art museums such as MOMA, the Guggenheim and the Deutsches Architektur Museum.
In addition to this creative, interdisciplinary aspect, Hadid stands out for her use of advanced technologies, making her an outstanding representative of modern deconstructivism in architecture.
