Zaha Hadid
ARCHITECT (1950 - 2016)
Dame Zaha Hadid was an Iraqi-born British
architect known for her radical designs. In
2004, she became the first women to be
awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Hadid's first major built project was the Vitra
Fire Station (1989-93) in Weil am Rhein,
Germany. Composed of a series of sharply
angled planes, the structure resembles a bird
in flight. Her other built works from this period
included a housing project for IBA Housing
(1989-93) in Berlin, the Mind Zone exhibition
space (1999) at the Millennium Dome in
Greenwich, London, and the land Formation
One exhibition space (1997-99) in Weil am
Rhein. In all of these projects, Hadid further
explored her interest in creating
interconnecting spaces and a dynamic
sculptural form of architecture.
Norma Merrick Sklarek
ARCHITECT (1926 - 2012)
Sklarek was born April 15th, 1926 and is
lauded for her numerous pioneering
achievements as one of the first African
American women architects in the United
Sates, Norma Merrick Sklarek has been
called the "Rosa Parks of architecture." Her
intelligence, talent, and tenacity allowed her to
overcome racism and sexism and become a
prominent architect and a leader in the
profession. In 1980, Sklarek was the first
African American woman elected to the
College of Fellows of the American Institute of
Architects for her outstanding contributions to
the profession, the first woman in the Los
Angeles AIA chapter to be awarded this
honour.
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