Zaha Hadid is one considered as one of the most important representatives of contemporary architecture and is the most googled architect. Winner of the Pritzker Prize in 2004, the architect, born in Iraq and naturalised English, has designed masterpieces and important buildings all over the world, including, in Italy alone, the MAXXI Museum in Rome – a building which won her the Stirling Prize – and residential buildings in the Citylife district in Milan.
She worked as a designer until 31 March 2016, the day of her death at the age of 65, caused by an heart attack. Despite the controversial legal disputes with Patrik Schumacher – Hadid’s long-time business partner – that followed her demise, Zaha Hadid Architects continued the visionary work it began in 1979, the date of its foundation.
But, considering both the long construction times and the difficulties of recent years, some of the projects designed and conceived by the architect are still in progress, and the inauguration of a couple of them is scheduled for this year. Covering more than a decade of ideas, these renderings and site photos show many of the themes and ideas that have made (and will continue to make) Hadid an inspirational figure.