Architect
Zaha Hadid is an architect who consistently pushes the boundaries of architecture and urban design. Her work experiments with new spatial concepts intensifying existing urban landscapes in the pursuit of a visionary aesthetic that encompasses all fields of design, ranging from urban scale through to products, interiors and furniture. Though best known for her built works, Hadid’s central concerns involve a simultaneous engagement in practice, teaching and research. Hadid graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London in 1977, winning the prestigious AA Diploma Prize and joined Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). In 1980 she set up her own practice and has since completed numerous award winning projects including the Vitra Fire Station, Weil am Rhein, Germany (1993), Terminus Honheim-Nord, Strasbourg, France (2001) and the Contemporary Arts Centre, Cincinnati, US (2003). Most recently she completed the BMW Central Building in Leipzig, Germany (2005) which was awarded the Deutsche Architecture Prize ‘Building of the Year’ and was recently shortlisted for the Stirling Prize 2005.
