Zaha Hadid • زها حديد‎

Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid was born in 1950 in Baghdad. Her works have inspired millions through her captivating vision of buildings as works of art to be experienced and which elevate the spirit and human potential. She became the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004. In 2012 she was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her accomplishments in the field of architecture.

Her work extended beyond buildings as she collaborated with fashion brands like Chanel and Louis Vuitton as well as creating designs for the Serpentine Gallery and Georg Jensen. Zaha died in 2016, leaving behind an unrivaled legacy, especially for women in the classically male-dominated discipline of architecture, from the Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi to the Dubai Opera, among many others.