In Memoriam: Dame Zaha Hadid
The world of architecture was rocked yesterday by news of the sudden death of Dame Zaha Hadid. She had suffered a heart attack while being treated in a Miami hospital for bronchitis.
The reverberations were felt even beyond the world of architecture; Dame Zaha had become one of the most recognisable faces to be associated with the field, with a profile enhanced in the wider public imagination by her design for the Aquatics Centre for the London 2012 Olympics.
Jane Duncan, President of the Royal Institute of British Architects yesterday paid tribute
“This is absolutely terrible news. 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.'
Dame Zaha leaves behind an extraordinary legacy - one only has to look at the Maxxi Museum in Rome and the Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton...evidence of an architect who dared to dream. Both of these designs won her the coveted Riba Stirling Prize.
Our Founder, Claire Meadows, says
'Dame Zaha had the poetry of Iraq in her veins and this shows in her entire canon...the fluidity of line, the fearless exploration of the outer limits of the form. She will be sorely, sorely missed.'
Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid 1950 - 2016
