Architect Zaha Hadid, dies aged 65

Architect Dame Zaha Hadid, designer of the London Olympic Aquatic Centre, has died aged 65.

Born in Iraq, Zaha Hadid, winner of the Royal Institute of British Architects Gold medal in recognition for her work, has passed away after a heart attack on Thursday in a Miami hospital where she was being treated for bronchitis.

In 2014, she designed the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, which won the Design Museum Design of the Year Award, making her the first woman to win the top prize in that competition.

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre

The architect also designed the Aquatics Centre for the London Olympics and was behind projects throughout the world.

Dame Zaha, who recently won the RIBA Gold Medal, became one of the most influential architects in the world designing buildings such as the MAXXI museum in Rome, as well as the Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton, the Riverside Museum in Glasgow, and the Maggie’s Centre in Kirkcaldy.

Dame Zaha’s other creations include the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in London and Guangzhou Opera House in China.

She was made a Dame in 2012 for services to architecture.

Jane Duncan, RIBA’s president, said: “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. The world of architecture has lost a star today.”

Richard Rogers, whose buildings include the Pompidou Centre and the Millennium Dome, said: ““She was a great architect, a wonderful woman and wonderful person.

“Among architects emerging in the last few decades, no one had any more impact than she did. She fought her way through as a woman. She was the first woman to win the Pritzker prize.

“I got involved with her first in Cardiff when the government threw her off the project in the most disgraceful way. She has had to fight every inch of the way. It is a great loss.”

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