Zaha Hadid, known as the “Queen of the Curve,” revolutionized modern architecture with her futuristic, fluid designs that defy traditional forms. Her groundbreaking work transformed cities, merging art with functionality. Let’s explore some of her most iconic projects and their lasting impact on urban development.
Written by
Liliana Alvarez
Photography
Safe Republic
Reggio Calabria’s mayor, Giuseppe Falcomatà and Zaha Hadid Architects’ director Filippo Innocenti have laid the foundation stone of the new Centre of Mediterranean Culture, marking the start of the project’s construction.
Project name
Centre of Mediterranean Culture
Architecture firm
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
Location
Reggio Calabria, Italy
Principal architect
Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher
Design team
Abdel Chehab, Anja Simons, Davide Del Giudice, Gabriele di Giovanni, Hangyul Jeong, Luciano Letteriello, Mario Mattia, Michele Salvi, Marina Martinez, Roberto Vangeli, Stefano Rocchetti, Serena Pietrantoni, Vincenzo Barillari
Collaborators
Artuso Architetti Associati
Status
Under Construction
Typology
Cultural Architecture › Cultural Center
In designing the hotel conversion of the Palazzo Capponi, on the Via di Ripetta, a branch of the city’s Sistine Trident radiating from the Piazza del Popolo, Hadid and her team at Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) led by Paola Cattarin, started where Baroque architects ended their palimpsest—at the vaulted ceilings.
Project name
Romeo Roma Hotel
Architecture firm
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
Photography
Chris Dalton, Jacopo Spilimbergo, Roberta Vassallo
Principal architect
Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher
Design team
Christos Sazos, Daniel Fiser, Grace Chung, John Morrison, Konstantinos Psomas, Kyle Dunnington, Ludovico Lombardi, Melodie Leung, Monir Karimi Kakhki, Natassa Lianou, Ovidiu Mihutescu, Pasquale Lorusso, Peter Logan, Sofia Papageorgiou, Thomas Sonder
Structural engineer
Studio Beta srl
Environmental & MEP
Spring srl
Lighting
Corte Gherardi snc
Construction
Mannelli Costruzioni srl, Ga .Re .Co. srl
Client
Romeo Gestioni spa
Typology
Hospitality › Hotel
The world’s longest driverless transit system, the Riyadh Metro network spans over 176 kilometres across 6 lines and 85 stations. Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, the King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station serves as the key interchange on the network.
Project name
King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station
Architecture firm
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
Location
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Principal architect
Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher
Design team
Marco Amoroso, Vincenzo Caputo, Abdel Halim Chehab, Lee Cubeddu, Rawan Al-Derjem, Domenico Di Francesco, David Fogliano, Manuele Gaioni, Marko Gligorov, Subharthi Guha, Alexandros Kallegias, Lisa Kinnerud, Alexandre Kuroda, Stefano Iacopini, Carolina López-Blanco, Jamie Mann, Mohammadali Mirzaei, Arian Hakimi Nejad, David Wolthers, Nicola McConnell, Mario Mattia, Massimo Napoleoni, Niki Okala, Carlos Parraga- Botero, Sohith Perera, Izis Salvador Pinto, Carine Posner, Neil Rigden, Paola Salcedo, Nima Shoja, Thomas Sonder, Vincenzo Reale, Kate Revyakina, Roberto Vangeli, Seungho Yeo
Civil engineer
BuroHappold
Structural engineer
BuroHappold
Environmental & MEP
Zamil
Construction
BACS Consortium
Typology
Transportation › Metro Station
The Masaryčka building in Prague has been inaugurated in a ceremony officiated by Bohuslav Svoboda, the mayor of Prague; Marek Dospiva, founder and partner of Penta Group; and Jim Heverin, director of Zaha Hadid Architects.
Architecture firm
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
Principal architect
Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher
Design team
Javier Rueda, Jan Klaska, Saman Dadgostar, Yifan Zhang, Moa Carlson, Juan Montiel, Carlos Parrada-Botero, Monika Bilska, Harry Spraiter, Ovidiu Mihutescu, Niran Buyukkoz, Nan Jiang, Horatiu Valcu
Typology
Commercial › Office Building
With its facades now completed, the Masaryčka building in Prague is defined by circulation routes which will provide access to new civic spaces for the city. Accommodating the continued growth of the city’s corporate sector with office spaces designed to meet 21st century working patterns, the 28,000 sq. m Masaryčka office and retail development in...
Architecture firm
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
Location
Prague, Czech Republic
Principal architect
Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher
Design team
Javier Rueda, Jan Klaska, Saman Dadgostar, Yifan Zhang, Moa Carlson, Juan Montiel, Carlos Parrada-Botero, Monika Bilska, Harry Spraiter, Ovidiu Mihutescu, Niran Buyukkoz, Nan Jiang, Horatiu Valcu
Typology
Commercial › Office Building
Designed as a hub of contemporary creativity within one of the world’s most dynamic regions, the Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Centre is at the heart of Aviation New City, an urbanisation with a built area of 4.78 million sq. m housing 100,000 residents and incorporating new civic, cultural, academic and commercial infrastructure within Zhuhai’s Jinwan d...
Project name
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Centre
Architecture firm
Zaha Hadid Architects
Photography
Virgile Simon Bertrand
Principal architect
Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher
Design team
Armando Bussey, Marius Cernica, Grace Chung, Nelli Denisova, Xuexin Duan, Kaloyan Erevinov, Nassim Eshaghi, Kate Hunter, Yang Jingwen, Reza Karimi, Ben Kikkawa, Lydia Kim, Julian Lin, Mei-Ling Lin, Valeria Mazzilli, Sareh Mirseyed Nazari, Massimo Napoleoni, Satoshi Ohashi, Yevgeniya Pozigun, Qi Cao, Qiuyu Zhao, Aurora Santana, Hannes Schafelner, Michael Sims, Patrik Schumacher, Sharan Sundar, Maria Touloupou, Chao Wei, Charles Walker, Kai-Jui Tsao, Yuling Ma, Feifei Fan
Interior design
Shenzhen Global Lighting Technology
Structural engineer
Beijing Institute of Architecture & Design South China Centre
Landscape
Beijing Institute of Architecture & Design (South China Centre)
Lighting
Shenzhen Global Lighting Technology
Construction
MCC City Investment Holding
Typology
Cultural Architecture › Art Center
The new MASARYCKA building is becoming one of Prague's greatest architectural gems. The new building designed by the famous architect Zaha Hadid complements the historic station building.
Interior design
Zaha Hadid Architects
Location
Prague, Czech Republic
Principal designer
Zaha Hadid, Jakub Klaska
Design team
Michal Wojtkiewicz, Malgorzata Kowalczyk, Fernanda Mugnaini, Matthew Carapiet, Bogdan Zaha, Chenxi Gong, Maya Boustany, Jan Klaska, Brian Dale
Collaborators
Cigler Architects (Local architect), K4 (Project management)
Architecture firm
Zaha Hadid Architects
Material
Corian by DUPONT
Contractor
AMOS DESIGN (Interior contractor)
Client
Penta Real Estate (Developer)
Typology
Office Building › Lobby
