The internationally renowned Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid died Thursday morning from a sudden heart attack at 65-years-old.
"It is with great sadness that Zaha Hadid Architects have confirmed that Dame Zaha Hadid DBE died suddenly in Miami in the early hours of this morning," Hadid's architectural firm said in a statement .
"She had contracted bronchitis earlier this week and suffered a sudden heart attack while being treated in hospital. Zaha Hadid was widely regarded to be the greatest female architect in the world today."
Hadid was the first woman to win the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004. Along with numerous other honors and awards throughout her lifetime, she also became the first woman to receive the Royal Institute of British Architects Gold Medal earlier this year.
Notable members of the international architecture community and British leaders shared their condolences following the news of her death. Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, tweeted, "So sad to hear of death of Zaha Hadid, she was an inspiration and her legacy lives on in wonderful buildings in Stratford and around the world."
Born in Baghdad, Hadid studied mathematics in Beirut before transferring to study at the prestigious Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. By 1979, she had established herself in London and went on to have an international career, designing iconic buildings all over the world.
Hadid's first major project to bring her international spotlight was Vitra Fire Station in Weil Am Rhein in Germany, completed in 1993. Within the Middle East, Hadid's designs include King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center in Riyadh, Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi and the Issam Fares Institute in Beirut. Her designs are also being used to complete the Iraq Parliament Building in Baghdad and the stadiums for the 2022 World Cup in Doha.
Hadid had also begun dabbling in fashion, doing collaborative projects with Pharrell Williams and with House of Aziz & Walid Mouzannar .
When Hadid was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal, Leading architect Sir Peter Cook wrote, "In our current culture of ticking every box, surely Zaha Hadid succeeds, since, (to quote the royal gold medal criteria) she is someone who ‘has made a significant contribution to the theory or practice of architecture ... for a substantial body of work rather than for work which is currently fashionable.'"
He continued, "For three decades now she has ventured where few would dare."