The death of Zaha Hadid at 65 on Thursday has reverberated through quarters of the architecture world from Baghdad, where she was born, to New York, London and Guangzhou, China, where she built. But the sense of loss, mounting online, has been most pronounced among female architects, who saw Ms. Hadid as a rare beacon of hope for their own success in a male-dominated field and a barometer of its continuing sexism.
Ms. Hadid was the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize, architecture’s top honor, in 2004, a quarter-century after the prize’s founding. Since that milepost, the percentage of women architects in the United States has barely grown, increasing to 25.7 percent from 24 percent, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Jane Duncan, RIBA’s president, said: “Dame Zaha Hadid was an inspirational woman, and the kind of architect one can only dream of being. Visionary and highly experimental, her legacy, despite her young age, is formidable.
“She leaves behind a body of work from buildings to furniture, footwear and cars, that delight and astound people all around the world. The world of architecture has lost a star today.”
Stirling prize winner Amanda Levete said: “She was an extraordinary role model for women. She was fearless and a trailblazer – her work was brave and radical. Despite sometimes feeling misunderstood, she was widely celebrated and rightly so.”
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
