Z for Zaha Hadid – extraordinary architect, #AtoZ Blog Challenge
Dongdaemun Design Plaza at night, Central Seoul, by Warren Whyte
Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid was a fabulously futuristic architest – one tutor at her architectural school, Professor Koolhaas, described her at her graduation as “a planet in her own orbit’, another as being the most talented pupil he had ever taught, and as ‘having spectacular vision’.
She was born on the 31st October in Iraq in 1950, and died in March 2016 from a heart attack while suffering from bronchitis.
She studied mathematics at the American University of Beirut before moving to London in 1972, to study at the Architectural Association School of Architecture.
She was described by the The Guardian as the ‘Queen of the curve’, who ‘liberated architectural geometry, giving it a whole new expressive identity’.
And her designs really are spectacular.
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Sheikh Zayed Bridge – Abu Dhabi, UAE by Mohannad Khatib
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I love this next one – it must be like being inside a womb of flowing, pleated material!
Auditorium of the Heydar Aliyev Center, Azerbaijan, by Khalilov
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An amazing woman – and our last A-Z! I hope to see you all next year (and if you have followed, through the year!). Thank you all very much for reading.
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If you’d like to read about more extraordinary women, why not buy the book Reaching the Stars, Poems about Extraordinary Women and Girls, by me, Jan Dean and Michaela Morgan – link below, press on book!
- Posted in: A-Z Challenge 2017 ♦ Extraordinary Women ♦ Liz Brownlee ♦ Poems ♦ Reaching the Stars ♦ Reaching the Stars Poems
- Tagged: Architecture, Design, Extraordinary Women, Jan Dean, Liz Brownlee, Michaela Morgan, Poems about extraordinary women and girls, Reaching the Stars, Women Architects, Zaha Hadid
lizbrownlee - poet 
I was just looking over my Reflections post from 2015 and I found a comment you made and came over to see if you did A to Z this year. I am going to add you to my feedly so I will not forget you!. I see you did and I am sorry I didn’t know earlier. I remember when Zaha Hadad died. Her work is amazing.
Finding Eliza
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Hello Kristin, sorry I haven’t been to see you this year – I’ve found it very, very hard – 3 lists in different places, I can’t put mine on the actual A-Z page as the blog s Blogger and it won’t let me comment! So I am doing it on Facebook and on BlogChatter instead. Not only that I’m writing for 3 different books atm which is taking up a lot of time. I’ve done as many as I can a day, but not the number (20 -30) I could do easily with just one visit like all the other years! Will pop in, in a minute!
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I only learned about Zaha Hadid a little while ago. I think her work is brilliant. I didn’t realise she was no longer with us. Our loss…
I agree with your comment to Kristin as well – it’s been very hard this year. I gave up really trying to get to new people, just returning to visit people who had visited me. It’s not how it should be, but in theory I can visit all those other interesting links I saw posted. I got a Blogger username to overcome the commenting problem some time ago, Liz (maybe four years ago?).
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Hi Jemima. I do have a Blogger blog, but it hasn’t helped – maybe because I’m on a mac? SOMETHING is wrong and most Blogger blogs just ignore my comments, it’s very frustrating. I have been able to comment on some (I do my very best when someone comments here for example) but it means using another computer. Sometimes I can do it with my Facebook or Twitter identity. But not usually. I do hope people who have done this before complain bitterly in the summing up!
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That’s weird. I’m on Mac… but that’s since I got the blogger blog. I actually have more problems with WP at present since Percy or Kevin keep signing in and pushing me out!
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I can comment if on my laptop but the screen on that is so small I find it very tiring. Plus I can’t recall which ones I have visited and which ones I haven’t as I go through the lists for the WordPress ones and if it turns out to be a Blogger blog have to come out again… then when on the laptop I can’t recall which Blogger ones I could leave a comment on and which I couldn’t so in the end, quite often, I give up.
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Wow! Those designs certainly are spectacular, and very futuristic. Sad to hear she had passed away so young.
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It is isn’t it, Nick? So much more to be achieved.
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That Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi is amazing.
As for the auditorium in Azerbaijan…I’m simply blown away by the beauty of the architecture!! SPECTACULAR!
What a loss of talent at such a young age…so sad.
Congrats on reaching the end of the A to Z Challenge, Liz!
Your theme was wonderful.
Writer In Transit
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Thanks, Michelle, and yes, I want to see that bridge in real life!
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what a gem of an architect! They are simply futuristic and beautiful
Congratulations on completing the competition on a high
Tina
Twinkling Tina Cooks
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Thanks, Tina! Congratulations to you, too!
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Her work is simply sensational and she is a major inspiration and influence for me in my design work.
Lovely post on her Liz!!
Theme: Peregrination Chronicles (travel)
Z is for Zen in the Glen #atozchallenge
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Thank you! I had seen the auditorium before and admired it but had no idea who designed it, so it was wonderful to find out about her. Off to see you now…
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Her style is really cool! I love the bridge and love that theatre! Sheloved the rounded edges and the forms do feel feminine. You know…..I wonder if Indian people have a certain gene that makes them susceptible to heart disease because it seems many do die from this when quite young.
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That bridge is wonderful. It’s a tragedy, her death, so young.
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She was Iraqi…. and used her Arab roots to inspire many of her designs… she wasn’t Indian! 🙂
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Hello – it doesn’t say anywhere on this post that she IS Indian? “She was born on the 31st October in Iraq in 1950, and died in March 2016 from a heart attack while suffering from bronchitis.” Oh, I see, in the comment before this one. Lol.
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Loool yh I was on about the previous comment… just wanted to clarify that
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🙂 She was an amazing loss. Her designs drawing on her Arabian influence were extraordinary. I have just bought a book of poetry translated from Arabian. They are very beautiful poems.
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They are! That’s why understanding different cultures is so important.
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