Zaha Hadid

Sketch: Yafiz Siddiqui Source: Wikipedia and Brainy Quotes

She is nicknamed 'Queen of the curve' for her dynamic neo-futuristic buildings, stadiums, museums and industrial designs- all of which challenge the traditional form and geometry in architecture. Dame Zaha Hadid, an Iraqi born British architect, is considered the most successful female architect of all time. A brave and radical Hadid kept on excelling in a male-dominated profession and was the first woman to win the Pritzker Price, a crowing achievement in the profession. She received the Stirling Prize in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, she was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and in 2015 she became the first woman to be awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in her own right.

"I used to not like being called a 'woman architect': I'm an architect, not just a woman architect. Guys used to tap me on the head and say, 'You are okay for a girl.' But I see the incredible amount of need from other women for reassurance that it could be done, so I don't mind that at all." 

"Architecture is particularly difficult for women; there's no reason for it to be. I don't want to blame men or society, but I think it was for a long time, the clients were men, the building industry is all male."

"As a woman, I'm expected to want everything to be nice and to be nice myself. A very English thing. I don't design nice buildings - I don't like them. I like architecture to have some raw, vital, earthy quality."

"You have to really believe not only in yourself; you have to believe that the world is actually worth your sacrifices."