lord norman foster pays heartwarming tribute to dear friend, zaha hadid
image © gautier deblonde

 

 

 

yesterday news broke that acclaimed architect zaha hadid had passed away suddenly. fellow british architect norman foster – who is also a recipient of the prestigious royal gold medal – released a personal tribute to his dear friend:

 

‘I am devastated by the news of the loss of zaha hadid and cannot comprehend the enormity of her passing away. I became very close to her as a friend and colleague in parallel with my deep respect for her as an architect of immense stature and global significance.

 

 

she was one of the very few architects as friends who was invited to my 80th birthday party in london last year. by a strange coincidence some days ago I received an email from one of her clients – someone she had designed a home for. with great pride he sent me about twenty pairs of images.  each pair showed the visualization that zaha presented and the reality as finally built.  it was a beautiful juxtaposition of what zaha promised and what she delivered. I was so looking forward to sharing with her these intimate insights. tragically that will never happen.

 

 

I think it was zaha’s triumph to go beyond the beautiful graphic visions of her sculptural approach to architecture into reality that so upset some of her critics. she was an individual of great courage, conviction and tenacity. it is rare to find these qualities tied to a free creative spirit. that is why her loss is so profound and her example so inspirational. and, besides, she was my dear friend.‘  – lord norman foster

 

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the architecture and design community continues to react to her sudden death with many personal statements about her comradely and deep impact she had in the field.

 

patrik schumacher, ZHA: ‘we are all shocked and devastated that we lost zaha today, a most beautiful individual, talent, leader and friend…many thanks to all of you who express their sympathy and share this moment of grief with me!’

 

bjarke ingels / BIG: ‘we are all incredibly sad to hear about the loss of zaha hadid. our thoughts are with her family, friends and colleagues. may she rest in peace’

 

jean nouvel: ‘AJN presents its sincere condolences to zaha hadid’s relatives and teams for this cruel loss. our sadness is immense zaha hadid architects’

 

ma yangsong, MAD architects: ‘my mentor zaha hadid’s life was an inspiring story of fighting for independence, equality and respect, while battling for progress and change. she loved and embraced the world with sensitivity and criticality. many understood her bold determination and unequivocal perspective. her stunning works captured the world as an optimistic and beautiful place, and enabled architecture to captivate new audiences. as her student 15 years ago, I was inspired and encouraged by her strengths and visions, and she will always continue to inspire both myself and everyone who experiences her work’