Zaha Hadid: 5 Traits that Made her So Badass

Written by Emily Brennenstuhl

Dame Zaha Hadid, the Baghdad-born British designer has sadly passed away at the premature age of 65. The first female Pritzker Prize-winner architect was commissioned around the world to create masterpieces including the London Olympic aquatic centre, and Messner Mountain Museum Corones. Being a woman and Muslim she didn’t have it easy but it was her strength and lack of fucks to give that made her a true legend. We remember Hadid’s five traits that turned her into a star architect for all the right reasons.

IMAGINATIVE
In early projects the designer presented her ideas to clients through beautiful abstract paintings, this gained her notoriety, however, it left her with a reputation for astonishing but unbuildable designs. Her creative process lead people to closely associate her skills with that of a fashion designer. “I’m into fashion because it contains the mood of the day, of the moment – like music, literature, and art,” she once said. Hadid frequently collaborated with Karl Lagerfeld which amounted in the Mobile Art Pavilion designed for Chanel, launched in 2011 in Paris.

‘I’M INTO FASHION BECAUSE IT CONTAINS THE MOOD OF THE DAY, OF THE MOMENT – LIKE MUSIC, LITERATURE, AND ART’

INSPIRATIONAL
Hadid adapted technology to realise the buildings she did by hand. Her avant garde work and use of innovative technologies developed into a style of its own. Deservingly, Hadid was the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize as well the first woman to be honoured the British RIBA Gold Medal, in 2016. In part of her acceptance speech she commented on the struggles women experience in the business world specifically within architecture: “We now see more established female architects all the time. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. Sometimes the challenges are immense.”

NOBILITY
“Education, housing and hospitals are the most important things for society,” Hadid said. She believed in having a back bone for society to build upon, a reputable quality she was widely admired for. Hadid strived to change our perceptions of space, not only in physically but socially and culturally as well.

‘EDUCATION, HOUSING AND HOSPITALS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS FOR SOCIETY’

‘I’M A FEMINIST, BECAUSE I SEE ALL WOMEN AS SMART, GIFTED AND TOUGH’

RESILIENT
“People don’t talk to you properly. It’s the way they talk to you; they dismiss you,” Hadid said. “I think it’s a combination of me being a woman and a foreigner.” Although she faced discrimination for being a woman, a Muslim, and an Arab, Zaha never ceased to keep going strong. “Yes, I’m a feminist, because I see all women as smart, gifted and tough.”

OPTIMIST
“You have to really believe not only in yourself; you have to believe that the world is actually worth your sacrifices.” Zaha Hadid was known for consistently pushing the boundaries in her personal life, humanity and designs. “There are 360 degrees, so why stick to one?” she famously asked.

Source: Sleek Mag