"Only rarely does an architect emerge with a philosophy and approach to the art form that influences the direction of the entire field. Such an architect is Zaha Hadid who has patiently created and refined a vocabulary that sets new boundaries for the art of architecture” Bill Lacy, architect and executive director of the Pritzer prize 2004

It was a memorable evening attending the lecture of the world renowned Iraq-born British Architect - Zaha Hadid. An inspiration and role model to many for defining a radically new approach to architecture and being the first woman ever to win the Pritzker Prize for Architecture .

Zaha Hadid who won this year’s RIBA Sterling prize presented an overview of her work at the 11th Stephen Lawrence memorial lecture. The presentation started with slides of her smallest scale projects and moved to large scale civic and commercial buildings right through to skyscrapers and entire urban fabrics. The layout of the presentation was categorised under abstract topics which in a certain way reflected a thought process.

The projects exhibited an influence of landscape and the world of nature which seemed to fuse in a unique way with a modern style of architecture- deconstructivism. The practice quest for complex, dynamic and fluid forms was expressed in the various projects such as Guangzhou opera house, the BMW central building in Leipzig, and other projects around the globe. Throughout her career, Hadid has consistently pushed the boundaries of architecture and urban design, experimenting with spatial articulation, interplay of light and shadows, buildings and existing landscapes.

Although being initially criticized that her projects were unbuildable, her creativity and perseverance has given the world such iconic buildings which is a tribute to the collaborative work of artists, engineers, designers and the client. By winning the Sterling prize in a row, Zaha Hadid has shown that she could work at different scales in terms of size, budget, users and context. With commissions from all over the world her prodigious creativity and imagination shows no sign of stopping and continuous to inspire and contribute to the world of art and built environment.