Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid was born in Baghdad, Iraq and moved to London in the 1970's, where she studied architecture.

She was the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004 (this is very important and is like the nobel prize for architecture. 

Her designs looked futuristic.  She used strong materials like steel and concrete, but her buildings appear soft and curved. 

She took inspiration from childhood visits to cities in Iraq, where water, people and beautiful buildings 'flowed together' in the landscapes. 

At first some people thought it wasnt possible for her daring designs to be built, but overcoming barriers was important to Hadid. 

Find out more about the work of architects by following this link

BBC Teach: Proud to be an Architect