Media & Arts

Zaha Hadid

Called a “paper architect” for a decade of unbuilt designs; became the first woman to win the Pritzker.

Born: 1950 · Baghdad, Iraq
Roots: Iraqi; emigrated to London in her twenties
Family: Affluent; Her father was a Baghdad industrialist and co-founder of a liberal political party.
Education: Mathematics at the American University of Beirut → Architectural Association, London
Started with: Family wealth; An affluent, cosmopolitan upbringing funded her education in Beirut and London.
Affiliations & societies: None documented.; Information only — claims like these are often unverifiable and may be wrong.

The pathway

1979 · age 29
Opens her own practice
In London, after teaching at the Architectural Association.
1983 · age 32
Wins The Peak competition
The Hong Kong project is never built — the first of many acclaimed unbuilt designs.
1993 · age 42
First completed building
The Vitra Fire Station in Germany.
1994 · age 43
Cardiff Bay Opera House
Wins the competition twice; the project is blocked anyway.
2004 · age 53
Pritzker Prize
The first woman to receive architecture's highest award.
2012 · age 61
Heydar Aliyev Center
The Baku building becomes her signature curve-form work.
2016 · age 65
Dies at 65
The first woman awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in her own right, weeks before her death.

Sources

Compiled from these references and contemporaneous press reporting. Figures are approximate; verify before relying on them.