Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid made history Wednesday in London when she became the first woman to receive Britain's Royal Gold Medal for architecture in her own right.
The world-renowned architect has been awarded the medal, which is personally approved by and given on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II, for her significant contribution to international architecture.
Hadid received another honor from the British monarchy in 2012 when she was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire for her distinguished body of work as well.
Only two other women have received the Royal Gold Medal, but Ray Kaiser Eames and Patricia "Patty" Hopkins shared the prestigious honor with their husbands, Charles Eames and Sir Michael Hopkins.
"We now see more established female architects all the time. That doesn't mean it's easy. Sometimes the challenges are immense. There has been tremendous change over recent years and we will continue this progress," Hadid said at the ceremony, according to the BBC .
This is not however, the first groundbreaking honor Hadid has received. In 2004, she became the first woman to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which is considered the Nobel Prize of the architecture world.
In addition, she was the first woman to win the Design Museum's Design of the Year Award in 2014. Hadid also won the Stirling Prize, which like the Royal Gold Medal is awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects, in both 2010 and 2011.
Hadid was born in Baghdad, where she grew up until she left to study mathematics at the American University of Beirut. She then went to study architecture at the Architectural Association in London, where she later founded her own practice Zaha Hadid Architects.
Hadid gained prominence for her grandly ambitious designs and futuristic architectural style. Her work is characterized by elongated structures, sweeping curves, fragmented geometry and multiple perspective points.
In her projects, she is known for prioritizing innovative techniques and the high standards she has for her design over the cost and practicality of the construction. As a result, her recognizable buildings are often very expensive to build and are sometimes considered somewhat impractical.
These buildings, which are scattered across the globe, include the Guangzhou Opera House in China, the London Aquatics Centre in London, the Maxxi Museum in Rome, the Phaeno Science Center in Germany and the Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu-Dhabi.