Zaha Hadid was an Iraqi-born British architect known for her radical deconstructivist designs. She began her studies at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, receiving a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. In 1972, she travelled to London to study at the Architectural Association, a major centre of progressive architectural thought during the 1970s.

Hadid began to be known as a “paper architect,” as her designs were considered too avant-garde to move beyond the sketch phase and actually be built. Hadid’s first major built project was the Vitra Fire Station in Weil am Rhein, Germany among many of her notable works in architecture.

In 2004, she became the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize and in 2012, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). Hadid passed away on March 31, 2016 following a heart attack.