| Born in Baghdad in 1950, Zaha
Hadid studied architecture at the Architectural Association from 1972,
where she was awarded the Diploma Prize in 1977. She then became a member
of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture; began teaching at the AA with
Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis; and later lead her own studio at the AA
until 1987. Her academic concerns have continued to the present, with
periods of visiting professorship at Columbia and Harvard Universities,
and a series of Master Classes and lectures at various venues around the
world. During 1994 she held the Kenzo Tange chair at the Graduate School
of Design, Harvard University.
Her work was awarded wide recognition in
1983, with a winning entry for The Peak Club, Hong Kong, which was
followed by first place awards for competitors in Kufurstendamm,
Berlin (1986); for an Art and Media Centre in Dusseldorf (1989);
and for the Cardiff Bay Opera House in 1994.
In parallel to her theoretical and academic
work, Hadid began her own practice in 1979 with the design for an
Apartment in Eaton Place, London. This work was awarded the Architectural
Design Gold Medal during 1982. Others projects have included furniture and
interiors for Bitar, London (1985), and the design of several buildings in
Japan; including two projects in Tokyo (1988), a Folly in Osaka (1990). In
1990 Hadid also completed an Exhibition Pavillion for Video Art in
Gronningen, and in 1992 she created the installation for ěThe Great
Utopiaî exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, New York. During 1988-89
Hadid received the commission for Vitra Fire Station in Weil am Rhein,
which was completed for harbour developments in Hamburg, Bordeaux and
Cologne.
Hadid's paintings and drawings have been
shown internationally, beginning with a large retrospective at the AA in
1983. Other major exhibitions include the Guggenheim Museum, New York
(1978); the GA Gallery, Tokyo (1985); the Museum of Modern Art in New York
(1988); The Graduate School of Design at Harvard University (1994), and
The Waiting Room at Grand Central Station New York (1995). Hadid’s work
also forms part of the permanent collection of various institutions such
as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Deutsches Architektur
Museum in Frankfurt. |
