Zaha Hadid

Iraqi Zaha Hadid studied mathematics at the American University of Beirut, then architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. After graduating, she worked at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) with Rem Koolhaas, before setting up her own practice in London in 1980. During the 1980s, she also taught at the Architectural Association School of Architecture, then at the most prestigious international institutions.

With Koolhaas, she met Peter Rice, who supported her at a time when her work seemed difficult to construct. She obtained various teaching positions at prestigious schools and universities in the United States. She is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Institute of Architects.

Her style is characterized by a predilection for the interweaving of taut lines and curves, sharp angles and superimposed planes that give her creations complexity and lightness. She was the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize in 2004. In 2008, she was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 69th most powerful woman in the world.

She is currently a professor at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria. In 2006, a retrospective of her work was held at the Guggenheim in New York. She is the second architect to have received this honor, after Frank Gehry. In the same year, she received an honorary degree from the American University of Beirut.

The architectural design firm - Zaha Hadid Architects - now employs 400 people. The firm is headquartered in London. Zaha Hadid is assisted by four partners: Patrik Schumacher, Gianluca Racana, Jim Heverin and Charles Walker.

She collaborates with the Italian firm Slamp, among others, and has designed a number of contemporary lighting fixtures, including the Avia suspension lamp.