March is ‘Women’s History Month’ and what better way to celebrate women in architecture than by taking a look at one of the architectural world’s most inspirational and sometimes controversial characters, Zaha Hadid?

The Iraqi-British architect, Zaha Hadid was renowned for her groundbreaking designs and contributions to the field of architecture. Coined by the Guardian as “Queen of the Curve”, she was the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious architecture awards, and the first woman to win the RIBA Gold Medal. Her work has had an immense impact on architecture (primarily commercial architecture) globally and changed how people think about design.

What made Hadid’s work unlike any other was her use of curves and angles, to create futuristic concepts, made all the more impressive by the use of raw materials like concrete and steel. Her design for the Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan perfectly demonstrates this with its swooping façade. Heavily inspired by the Avante-Garde, and the abstract, her buildings have left a unique silhouette on skylines over the globe.  

As well as her unique take on design, Zaha Haddid’s process was also unorthodox and innovative, favouring painting her concepts as opposed to traditional architectural drawings. 

“Technology’s rapid development and our ever-changing lifestyles created a fundamentally new and exhilarating backdrop for building, and in this new world context I felt we must reinvestigate the aborted and untested experiments of Modernism – not to resurrect them, but to unveil new fields of building.”

As an Arab woman working in the predominantly white male-dominated world of architecture, she faced fierce competition and a no less significant amount of obstacles, but her passion for the extraordinary shot her to the top of her field. Initially, incensed by the term “woman architect”, it was something she later embraced, being quoted as saying:

“I used to not like being called a ‘woman architect.’ I’m an architect, not just a woman architect. The guys used to tap me on the head and say ‘you’re OK for a girl.’ But I see an incredible amount of need from other women for reassurance that it can be done, so I don’t mind anymore.”

Zaha Hadid died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 2016 but left a legacy that can be seen in some of the most iconic buildings in the world, from The London Aquatics Centre to projects like Beijing’s Galaxy Soho and Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Her work stands as a testament to her unique vision and as a gateway to the future of architectural design may take us.

“I really believe in the idea of the future.” – Zaha Hadid