The world of arts and design looks very different today, after the loss of Zaha Hadid, the first woman architect to win the Pritzer Price in 2004.
The architect, born in Iraq 65 years ago, died in Miami yesterday for a heart attack, leaving behind 37 architectural masterpieces all over the world.
The “Queen of curves”, as she has been called in a memorial article on The Guardian, is known in Italy for the wonderful MAXXI museum in Rome, the first National center for the exhibition of contemporary art and architecture.
The project of this immense building was selected following a two-parts international competition launched by the Ministry for Cultural Heritage in 1998.
Among more than 270 candidates, the visionary idea of Zaha Hadid has been selected for “its capacity to integrate with the urban fabric and for its innovative architecture successfully interpreting the potential of the new institution and equipping it with an extraordinary sequence of public spaces”.
This architectural gem is the perfect example of Hadid’s style, creating a complexity of volumes, with curving walls and intersection of levels, which determine a very rich spatial configuration.
Built in the north of Rome, between the Stadio Olimpico (Olimpic Stadium), home of Roman football supporters, and the Auditorium Parco della Musica, the house of music and performing arts designed by Renzo Piano, the Maxxi is from 2009 the cultural center of the contemporary arts in the Eternal City.
Hadid started her architectural career in London, establishing in 1979 her own practice, Zaha Hadid Architects.
From London to Abu Dhabi, from Madrid to Seoul and the US, there is no place in the world where Zaha Hadid has not left a sign of her original concept of architecture.
The last works are the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku (2013) and the stadium for the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar.
After yesterday’s news, the world is commemorating this visionary woman.
The Maxxi has decided to honor its creator, changing the design of their logo and dedicating to Zaha Hadid the home page of their website.
An example for all the women, Zaha Hadid was also one of the most creative mind of the 21st century.
“You have to really believe not only in yourself; you have to believe that the world is actually worth your sacrifices”, Zaha Hadid.