Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid was born in Baghdad to an upper-class liberal family. She opened her own architectural firm, Zaha Hadid Architects, in London in 1980, introducing audiences to a new modern style of architecture that soon earned her international renown. Hadid is the author of buildings with impossible designs, like the London Aquatics Centre, the Guangzhou Opera House and the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan. She was the recipient of many awards, including the Pritzker Architecture Prize. A staunch feminist, Hadid was considered a pioneer in the use of curves in building design.