19 Stunning Photos Of Buildings Designed By Iraqi-British Architect Zaha Hadid

Aussenansicht des leerstehenden Zaha-Hadid-Baus im neunten Wiener Gemeindebezirk am Montag, 18. Aug. 2008, der nun verkauft werden soll. (AP Photo/Lilli Strauss) --- Outside view of an appartment building by famous Iraqian born architect Zaha Hadid in Vienna, on Monday, Aug. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Lilli Strauss)

Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, whose trademark designs were widely acclaimed and used in buildings across the world, has died of a heart attack at the age of 65. Hadid's projects included the MAXXI museum in Rome, the London Aquatics Centre used in the 2012 summer Olympics and the Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Born in Baghdad, she went to boarding schools in England and Switzerland before studying mathematics at the American University of Beirut. She turned to architecture in London in the 1970s, establishing her own practice in 1979.

"Architects are crazy. We do all-nighters, we used to do five nights no sleep," she told BBC radio last month. "You are very exhausted so there's a bit of delirium sets in."

Architects are crazy. We do all-nighters, we used to do five nights no sleep," she told BBC radio last month. "You are very exhausted so there's a bit of delirium sets in.

Few of her geometrically complex designs in the 1980s and 1990s were realized, but she refused to compromise.

Her company's design was chosen for the 2020 Tokyo summer Olympic stadium but was scrapped due to ballooning costs. Critics had derided it as reminiscent of a bicycle helmet or drooping oyster and out of sync with the neighborhood.

Hadid also designed the al Wakrah stadium being built in Qatar for the 2022 soccer World Cup.

In 2004 she became the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, considered the highest honour in the field and one of many honours bestowed on her across the world.

Hadid was made a Dame by Britain's Queen Elizabeth in 2012 and was recently awarded the 2016 Royal Institute of British Architects' Royal Gold Medal, the first woman to receive the honour in her own right.

Here are some of her best designs.

(Inputs from Reuters)

KYODO Kyodo / Reuters

A rendering model of the new National Stadium for 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, is displayed at a meeting of memebrs of the advisory council on the construction of the new stadium, in Tokyo, in this photo taken by Kyodo July 7, 2015 and released on July 17, 2015. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Friday the scrapping of a plan for a controversial national stadium, the centrepiece of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, after sky-rocketing costs sparked public outrage. Anger over the stadium, the estimated cost of which had climbed to $2.1 billion, almost twice its expected cost when Tokyo won the bid for the Summer Games in 2013, had become a liability for Abe as he pushes unpopular defence bills through parliament. The new National Stadium was also meant to have been the centrepiece of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Picture taken July 7, 2015. Mandatory credit REUTERS/Kyodo ATTENTION EDITORS - FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. MANDATORY CREDIT. JAPAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPAN.

Stringer Russia / Reuters

Cars drive near the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre which is under construction in the capital Baku, November 3, 2010.

Toby Melville / Reuters

A general view is seen of the Aquatics Centre at the Olympic Park in Stratford, the location of the London 2012 Olympic Games, in east London July 19, 2012. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Files

Max Rossi / Reuters

Guests walk inside Maxxi museum of contemporary art and architecture in Rome November 13, 2009. REUTERS/Max Rossi/Files

KEY

'Mesa' by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and German architect Patrik Schumacher is displayed at the exhibition of the Vitra Edition in the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, Wednesday, June 13, 2007. Vitra Edition is a laboratory that provides architects and designers with the freedom to create experimental furniture objects and interior installations. After a first presentation on the Vitra Campus during Art 38 Basel 2007, the new Vitra edition prototypes will be shown in museums and galleries worldwide. (KEYSTONE/Georgios Kefalas)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

In this Sept. 4, 2014 photo, a pair of 2013 chromed vinyl shoes by designer Zaha Hadid are on display at an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. "Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe" highlights shoes from the 1600s to the present and is open from Sept. 10 through Feb. 15. (AP Photo/Rachelle Blidner)

KEY

'Mesa' of Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and German architect Patrik Schumacher is on display at the exhibition of the Vitra Edition in the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, Wednesday, June 13, 2007. Vitra Edition is a laboratory that provides architects and designers with the freedom to create experimental furniture objects and interior installations. After a first presentation on the Vitra Campus during Art 38 Basel 2007, the new Vitra edition prototypes will be shown in museums and galleries worldwide. (KEYSTONE/Georgios Kefalas)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A man walks across the futuristic pavilion, Chanel's "Mobile Art" which is created by architect Zaha Hadid in Hong Kong Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008. "Mobile Art," is a traveling exhibition featuring pieces by 20 contemporary artists, in which all of the works are inspired by the iconic Channel quilt bag. The exhibition will begin in Hong Kong on Feb. 27, and will then travel around the world to Tokyo, New York, London, Moscow, and Paris. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Visitors stand on a stretched and winding bridge linking between the newly opened Galaxy Soho building in Beijing Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012. Galaxy Soho, a new office, retail and entertainment building, designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004, and the Stirling Prize in 2010 and 2011. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

In this Nov. 9, 2012 photo the exterior of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum is seen on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich. The museum features Zaha Hadid's signature look: a facade of pleated stainless steel and glass, which distinguishes it from the traditional brick Collegiate Gothic buildings that surround it on Michigan State's north campus. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A member of the media walks past a work by Dame Zaha Hadid, made of fibreglass with a metallic finish which entitled 'Kloris' and is for sale at 450,000 pounds ( US$ 691,000 euro 528,000), which is part of the annual Royal Academy Summer show at the academy's galleries in London, Wednesday, June, 5, 2013. The summer show opens to the public from June 10 to Aug 18. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Barry Huang / Reuters

People walk between buildings of Wangjing SOHO on the opening day of the compound, in Beijing September 20, 2014. Wangjing SOHO, the latest commercial real estate project completed by SOHO China, is designed by Pritzker Prize winner Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The compound is comprised of three towers, the tallest of which reaches 200 metres. REUTERS/Barry Huang (CHINA - Tags: REAL ESTATE BUSINESS)

Dominic Ebenbichler / Reuters

A long time exposure shows the ski jumping hill designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid in Innsbruck, Austria March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Dominic Ebenbichler

Andrew Winning / Reuters

A woman looks at paintings behind a sculpture by Zaha Hadid titled "Kloris" during the media preview of the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in central London, June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Winning/Files

Dominic Ebenbichler / Reuters

A long time exposure shows the ski jumping hill designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid in Innsbruck, Austria March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Dominic Ebenbichler/Files

Jason Lee / Reuters

People visit the newly opened Galaxy Soho building, designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, in Beijing October 27, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Lee/Files

Jason Lee / Reuters

A visitor walks at the newly opened Galaxy Soho building, designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, in Beijing October 27, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Lee/Files

Stefano Rellandini / Reuters

A visitor takes a picture of the 3D printed shoes by architect Zaha Hadid during the Milan Design Week, April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/Files

Victor Fraile / Reuters

An exterior view is seen of the futuristic pavilion created by British-Iraqi deconstructivist architect Zaha Hadid for Chanel's "Mobile Art" exhibition, placed in the Hong Kong's Central district February 26, 2008. REUTERS/Victor Fraile/Files

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19 Stunning Photos Of Buildings Designed By Iraqi-British Architect Zaha Hadid

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