Another difference I see is that I mostly read about authors in this series before, but now, as this one is about an architect, you see her work, the buildings she created, instead of having just one symbol for her achievements like Frankenstein's monster was for Mary Shelley. Also, Zaha Hadid won numerous awards which are mentioned and would make a neat entryway for more research on famous architects and their work in one would be so inclined. She drove home the point with a declaration that architects of her time had “responsibilities far greater: we must create a new dynamic of architecture in which the land is partially occupied. We must understand the basic principles of liberation.” Vitra fire station via Wikimedia Commons Zaha remembers the grasses in the marshes swaying, and sees tall buildings dancing like grass…Zaha looks at stones in a stream, and builds an opera house like the pebbles in the water…Zaha looks up at the stars and galaxies and sees swirling buildings.” This month marks seven years since the unexpected passing of the British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, at what was undoubtedly the height of her historic career. Her influence on international architecture can’t be overstated. She was part of a generation of architects who both redefined and invented the forms that would characterize contemporary design. And as an Arab woman garnering international fame, she challenged “who” an architect could be. Throughout her training at London's Architectural Association, and her work with Rem Koolhaas at OMA, to the establishment of her own worldwide architectural practice, Zaha Hadid has been acclaimed for her vanguard architectonic language. Only a handful of her projects have been built-all to great critical success- and each new project astonishes the world of design with its commitment to revolutionary forms and ideas. As a result, she has an enormous following of students and practitioners, visionaries and builders.

As a child growing up in Baghdad in the 1950s and 1960s, Zaha Hadid’s love for math allowed her to see the world through a unique lens; she observed carpet patterns (seeing how the “shapes and colors flow into each other”), dreamed of ancient ruins, and observed nature. Her creative thoughts inspired her to become an architect, and she went on to design extraordinary and unusual structures: “Zaha’s designs don’t look like other designs. Her buildings swoosh and zoom and flow and fly.” Winter quotes Hadid as saying, “The beauty of the landscape— where sand, water, reeds, birds, buildings, and people all somehow flow together—has never left me,” and Winter’s rich-hued, multilayered illustrations visually unite readers with the spirit of Hadid’s architectural creations. A series of spreads shows the artist at work while holding or viewing natural-world or cultural objects, juxtaposed with images of the structures she created that were Iranian architect Zaha Hadid drew inspiration for her designs from the natural world, which she famously whirling stars are reflected in a building’s curves and swirls. Winter’s illustrations utilize cool pastel tones Famously architect Zaha Hadid did one of her earliest building designs for The Peak architecture competition. Zaha Hadid Architect Book, UK, Children’s Publication, The World Is Not a Rectangle, Volume Zaha Hadid Book : Architecture PublicationWinter then depicts Zaha’s unbuilt Cardiff Bay Opera House, which was slated for Cardiff, Wales, and the controversial story of how her winning design never received the support needed for construction. “The idea that… the place was designed by an Arab lady interested in abstract painting, did not sit well with many of the Welsh,” writes John Seabrook in an article for the New Yorker. After facing discrimination from the architecture world, Zaha vowed to never let a piece she designed go to waste. “I made a conscious decision not to stop,” said Zaha of the unfortunate incident, which Winter uses in her book. quotes from Zaha, and a short bio. A fantastically crafted picture-book biography on a woman deserving of

Zaha Hadid grew up in Baghdad, Iraq, and dreamed of designing her own cities. After studying architecture in London, she opened her own studio and started designing buildings. But as a Muslim woman, Hadid faced many obstacles. Determined to succeed, she worked hard for many years, and achieved her goals—and now you can see the buildings Hadid has designed all over the world. In her latest children’s book, “The World Is Not a Rectangle,” author and illustrator Jeanette Winter portrays the life of the late architect Zaha Hadid, a selection of her works, and her inspirations. Zaha Hadid is an architect whose work ranges from masterplans to interiors and furniture. She is best known for her Vitra Fire Station and recently the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati. By her untimely death in 2016, Hadid was firmly established among architecture’s finest elite, working on projects in Europe, China, the Middle East, and the United States. She was the f irst female architect to win both the Pritzker Prize for architecture and the prestigious RIBA Royal Gold Medal, with her long-time Partner Patrik Schumacher now the leader of Zaha Hadid Architects and in charge of many new projects. Part of the critically acclaimed Little People, BIG DREAMS series, Zaha Hadid tells the inspiring true story of the visionary Iraqi-British architect.overview of Zaha’s childhood and education, paying particular attention to the ruins, deserts, and marshes

Non-fiction picture book about the famed architect’s life and her triumph over adversity from celebrated author-illustrator Jeanette Winter. Hadid studied architecture at the Architectural Association (AA) in London from 1972 and was awarded the AA Diploma Prize in 1977. Zaha became a partner of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). perfectly reflecting the architect’s organic design philosophy. Readers will also come away with a firm This book is gorgeously illustrated, following a very similar style to all of the other books I've read that are a part of this series. It's simple, colorful, to the point, and excellent for the typical audience. As usual, I am a huge fan. Even better, the book also features extended information about Zaha Hadid at the end.By her untimely death in 2016, Hadid was firmly established among architecture’s finest elite, working on projects in Europe, China, the Middle East, and the United States. She was the first female architect to win both the Pritzker Prize for architecture and the prestigious RIBA Royal Gold Medal, with her long-time Partner Patrik Schumacher now the leader of Zaha Hadid Architects and in charge of many new projects. Leaving her home in Baghdad, she studied architecture in London and made quite a splash with her unconventional building designs. She entered contests and her designs won. As she became more famous, she received phone calls from other countries to design buildings that imitated flight or moving water. Soon, Zaha designed an art gallery in the United States, and from there, she was jet-setting around the world designing projects for housing and public use. She won the Pritzker Prize, the most prestigious award for architecture, and she was the youngest person ever to win.

A visionary architect from Iraq gets well-deserved attention in Winter's new picture-book biography about a woman of courage whose ideas and persistence influenced the world. Zaha Hadid, a native of Baghdad, grows up admiring nature and patterns. She designs her own clothes, wonders at the ruins in her homeland, and dreams of designing cities. "Zaha has ideas." Zaha studies math, then leaves home to study architecture in London. She then sets to work planning and designing what the world has never seen: buildings conceived after the shapes and patterns of nature. Working past the initial rejection and discrimination she faces, Zaha grows her firm from one room to an entire building. Eventually, her designs are built all over the world. Her architects continued "making models of her visions" even after her death, which is gently portrayed in this book for young readers. The illustrations in this portrait are fresh and spare, highlighting the concepts behind Zaha's designs. As in Winter's other picture books, the use of color, shape, and pattern in the artwork pairs beautifully with the straightforward text to tell this intriguing story. The text makes a delightful read-aloud, and it's engaging enough to grab the attention of independent readers as well. This powerful biography is a boon for all children and is particularly valuable for children outside of the mainstream who have large visions and dreams of their own. (author's note, sources.) (Picture book/biography. 5-10 Highly, highly recommended grade 3 and up. Younger kids will enjoy hearing the story. With author's note, timeline and bibliography. Hadid created architecture that didn’t look like what architecture was expected to look like. Her designs embraced angular forms and swooping lines straight out of Modernist paintings. These were quite different from the rectangular forms so central to architectural design. She argued for these new forms—and a rejection of how architecture had been designed in the recent past— through a short discussion of randomness and arbitrariness published in 1982. She saw her own work as containing randomness, which holds both logic and forethought. Those are characteristics not found in arbitrariness. She argued that Winter offers a playful glimpse into Zaha’s world, inviting the young readers to approach things with Zaha’s perspective, who was able to see beyond everyday objects. In an excerpt from her book, Winter depicts the young Zaha standing on a carpet. “[She] looks long and hard at patterns in her Persian carpet and sees how the shapes and colors flow into each other, like the dunes and rivers and marshes,” writes Winter. transforms into a sports stadium; marsh grasses inspire a cluster of kinked apartment towers; the galaxy’sWith colorful illustrations, Jeanette Winter tells the story of Zaha and how she became a radical architect. Starting from the beginning, she depicts Zaha as a child living with her family in Baghdad, being inspired by the country’s beautiful rivers, dunes, and above all ruins of ancient cities. Hadid would say on multiple occasions, “ I never thought of myself as a role model.” But she became a role model to many by simply pursuing the career she wanted. She was a prominent woman globally recognized and in demand for her designs. She was an Iraqi known for her abilities as an architect and not for being from a country regularly portrayed negatively in Western media. But, as noted by ‘Aref, Western portrayals of Hadid’s Iraqi heritage are often limited to three simple words: “born in Baghdad.” Wangjing SOHO via Wikimedia Commons Over the years, Hadid’s forms softened, with edges losing their sharpness and evolving into curves and rolls. In correspondence with Mohammad ‘Aref, she described the curving forms of the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center in Baku, Azerbaijan, as allowing the structure to blur the boundaries between the architecture and the topography. Today the forms of her architectural designs are iconic. We can experience them across the globe, from Europe to the Middle East to Asia. With her most recent commission, Cincinnati's Contemporary Arts Center, architect Zaha Hadid becomes the first woman ever to design an American museum. This long awaited first monograph on one of the world's most important architects collects Hadid's entire oeuvre-more than 80 built and unbuilt projects over 20 years- in one significant volume. This empowering series offers inspiring messages to children of all ages, in a range of formats. The board books are told in simple sentences, perfect for reading aloud to babies and toddlers. The hardcover versions present expanded stories for beginning readers. Boxed gift sets allow you to collect a selection of the books by theme. Paper dolls, learning cards, matching games, and other fun learning tools provide even more ways to make the lives of these role models accessible to children.