Episode 18: Zaha Hadid
Zaha Mohammed Hadid was born on October 31st, 1950 in Baghdad, Iraq. Her father Mohammed was a leading liberal Iraqi politician and her mother Wajiha came from a wealthy Mosul family. When Zaha was 16 she went to school in Switzerland for a year and then in London. In 1968, Zaha went to college at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon and got her Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics. Her family had to flee Iraq to London and Zaha enrolled at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. There she learned from Oscar Neimeyer and Rem Koolhaas. After graduation, she briefly worked at Koolhaas's firm OMA, before starting her own practice. Some of her most notable projects include the Vitra Fire Station, the Maxxi Museum, the Al Janoub Stadium (formerly known as the Al Wakrah Stadium), and many more. The Rosenthal Cincinnati Museum was Zaha's first project in the USA. When Zaha won this project in 1998, she became the first woman to design a museum in the United States. The New York Times called this project "the most important American building to be completed since the Cold War." On May 31st, 2004 Zaha was awarded one of architecture’s most prestigious awards, the Pritzker Prize. She was the first woman to win this prize and at the age of 54, she was also the youngest. She was awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize for excellence in architecture in 2010 AND 2011. In addition to her awards, Zaha also taught at the Harvard GSD, Yale, Columbia University in NYC, Ohio State, and the AA in London. She taught around the world! In 2012, Zaha was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for Services to Architecture. On March 31st, 2016 at age 65, Zaha passed away.
Caryatids: Yvonne Farrell & Shelley McNamara
The Irish duo Yvonne and Shelley established Grafton Architects in 1978, along with three other partners, although only Farrell and McNamara stayed on. Prior to that, the two were offered to teach at the University College Dublin immediately after graduating in 1974, a challenge they accepted and enjoyed until 2006. In 2010, they held the Kenzo Tange chair at GSD Harvard and in 2011, the Louis Kahn chair at Yale University. They have been visiting professors in Switzerland and lectured internationally. In 2020, Shelley and Yvonne won the Pritzker Prize making them the first women duo to win the award.
References
Lewis, Anna M. “Zaha Hadid” Women of Steel and Stone: 22 Inspirational Architects, Engineers, and Landscape Designers. 81–87. United States: Chicago Review Press, 2017.
Rowland, P., 2013. Award-Winning Businesswoman Zaha Hadid Hits Out At 'Prejudice' Over Doomed Cardiff Bay Opera House Project. [online] Wales Online. Available at: <https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/zaha-hadid-hits-out-prejudice-2996109> [Accessed 29 October 2020].
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