COOL PEEPS : ZAHA HADID

Last night, we watched a great documentary called "London Games: Building the Park" which covered all of the genius work that has gone into creating the place that will forever be known as Olympic Park in London.

Among the many architects, designers and planning managers that were featured was the legendary Baghdad native, Zaha Hadid. She is the first woman to win The Pritzker Architecture Prize which honors a living architect whose built work consistently demonstrates exceptional talent and vision, produced significant contributions to humanity and the environment through the art of architecture.

The award-winning architect was chosen to create the Aquatic Centre which will be one of the permanent buildings constructed for the Olympics. When she revealed her design, it was so COOL that the Olympics committee decided to make it the official gateway to Olympic Park. The spectacular roof features a curved design inspired by the movement of water and it has become one of the most challenging engineering projects ever. It is supported by two concrete supports and a supporting wall. The 3000 ton piece was lifted in a single movement. The two outer structures that are on both sides of the curved center building are temporary and will be removed after the games.

Throughout her career, Zaha Hadid has won many competitions and she is now one of the most sought-after designers in the world. Needless to say, she has her place in architecture and product design. Last year, she was included in the Forbes list under "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women", justifying all the fame that her name began to be producing for major companies in the world.

Zaha Hadid

We'll be continuing our countdown to the 2012 Olympic Games with more COOL features throughout the week. See NAS's GOLD MARGIELA KICKS HERE.

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