Zaha Hadid was born in 1950 in Baghdad. She studied mathematics in Beirut and later moved to London to study in the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. After she worked with a couple of her previous tutors in 1980, she established her own studio in London.

What is interesting about her work, is that a couple of her award winning designs were initially never built. Some of her most notable creations include the new city casino of Basel, the MAXXI in Rome (for which she won the Stirling Prize in 2010). She was also in charge of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park in Seoul, South Korea. Her non-architecture work includes cooperation with leading Italian furniture designer B&B (for which she designed the Moon System Sofa), Lacoste, as well as creating the interior design at the Millennium Dome in London. Her architectural achievements and cutting edge style has won her numerous recognitions and awards, including the Pritzker Architecture Prize. She has been ranked 69 on the Forbes list of “The world’s 100 Most Powerful Women”and has been recognized as an “influential”thinker by the Times Magazine. She has been on the board of trustees of the Architecture Foundation and is currently teaching at the University of Applied Arts in Austria.