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Story highlights

The late Zaha Hadid is being celebrated by David Gill Gallery, London

The exhibition shows Hadid's work outside of architecture, in fashion, art and design

CNN  — 

News of Zaha Hadid’s untimely death earlier this year shook the architecture community to its foundations.

At the Masterpiece collectors’ fair in London, Hadid’s friend and collaborator Francis Sultana of David Gill Gallery has curated a special commemorative salon that offers an insight into the Baghdad-born architect’s extraordinary life and career.

“The fair and myself felt it would be lovely to do something in her memory this year as Zaha was taken from us very unexpectedly,” says Sultana.

Zaha Hadid: An inspiration for female architects

“I wanted to make sure this year that she’s not going to be forgotten, that we’re going to start to think about all the work she did and the woman behind that work.”

The exhibition presents a selection of objects designed by Hadid over a career that saw her create some of the world’s most distinctive buildings and earned her architecture’s highest honor, the Pritzker Prize, in 2004.

"London 2066" by Zaha Hadid Architects, for British Vogue, 1991.
"London 2066" by Zaha Hadid Architects, for British Vogue, 1991.
Zaha Hadid Architects

Having come to London in 1972 to study at the Architectural Association, Hadid founded her own studio in 1980 and began pioneering a form of parametric design which utilized computer software to enable the creation of buildings and objects with an unprecedented plasticity.

Examples such as her Aquatic Center for the London 2012 Olympics and the Guangzhou Opera House in China encapsulate her ability to challenge conventions and find ways to realize incredibly complex forms.

The exhibition at Masterpiece includes paintings, prototypes and finished products loaned by her studio, which provide evidence of Hadid’s singular approach to every project she worked on.

Renowned architect Zaha Hadid has died at 65. We look back at some of her most memorable buildings.
Renowned architect Zaha Hadid has died at 65. We look back at some of her most memorable buildings.
Courtesy Brigitte Lacombe
The Vitra Fire Station, Zaha Hadid's first independently realized building, was completed in 1993.
Vitra Fire Station, 1993 (Weil Am Rhein, Germany) —
The Vitra Fire Station, Zaha Hadid's first independently realized building, was completed in 1993.
Christian Richters/RIBA
This cancer care center on the grounds of Victoria Hospital was Hadid's first UK building.
Maggie's Centre at Victoria Hospital, 2006 (Kirkcaldy, Scotland) —
This cancer care center on the grounds of Victoria Hospital was Hadid's first UK building.
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Hadid's Riverside Museum took home the European Museum of the Year Award in 2013.
Riverside Museum, 2013 (Glasgow, Scotland) —
Hadid's Riverside Museum took home the European Museum of the Year Award in 2013.
Hufton + Crow
With her fluid design, Hadid hoped to move away from the rigidity that defined Azerbaijan when it was part of the USSR.
Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center, 2012 (Baku, Azerbaijan) —
With her fluid design, Hadid hoped to move away from the rigidity that defined Azerbaijan when it was part of the USSR.
Tom Pennington/Getty Images
The distinctive curves of the Sheikh Zayed Bridge are meant to recall desert sand dunes.
Sheikh Zayed Bridge, 2010 (Abu Dhabi, UAE) —
The distinctive curves of the Sheikh Zayed Bridge are meant to recall desert sand dunes.
View Pictures/Universal Images Group Editorial/Getty Images
This interactive science center that resembles a space ship was a landmark project for the country.
Phaeno Science Center, 2005 (Wolfsburg, Germany) —
This interactive science center that resembles a space ship was a landmark project for the country.
Werner Huthmacher
A year after completing the BMW Central Building, Hadid won the prestigious Prikzter Prize, making her the first woman to do so.
BMW Central Building, 2004 (Leipzig, Germany) —
A year after completing the BMW Central Building, Hadid won the prestigious Prikzter Prize, making her the first woman to do so.
Bloomberg/Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Sitting atop Mount Kronplatz, the mountain museum was a collaboration between Hadid and Reinhold Messner, the first man to complete the ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen.
Messner Mountain Museum Corones, 2015 (South Tyrol, Italy) —
Sitting atop Mount Kronplatz, the mountain museum was a collaboration between Hadid and Reinhold Messner, the first man to complete the ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen.
Inexhibit
A hybrid of pedestrian footbridge and exhibition pavilion. Hadid's fluid design mirrored the theme of the Expo that year; water and sustainable development.
Bridge Pavilion, 2008 (Zaragoza, Spain) —
A hybrid of pedestrian footbridge and exhibition pavilion. Hadid's fluid design mirrored the theme of the Expo that year; water and sustainable development.
PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/Getty Images
Hadid's curvy London Aquatics Centre was the highlight of the 2012 Olympic Park.
The London Aquatics Centre, 2012 (London, England) —
Hadid's curvy London Aquatics Centre was the highlight of the 2012 Olympic Park.
Hufton + Crow, courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects
Hadid likened her Guangzhou Opera House in China to two rocks washed up from the Pearl River and deposited on its bank.
Guangzhou Opera House, 2010 (Guangzhou, China) —
Hadid likened her Guangzhou Opera House in China to two rocks washed up from the Pearl River and deposited on its bank.
zhang zhenghua/Moment Editorial/Getty Images
The 290,000-square-foot structure became Italy's first national public museum of contemporary art when it opened in 2010.
MAXXI: Italian National Museum of 21st Century Arts, 2010 (Rome, Italy) —
The 290,000-square-foot structure became Italy's first national public museum of contemporary art when it opened in 2010.
CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP/Getty Images
The Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, which opened in 2003, was Hadid's first building in America.
Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, 2003 (Cincinnati, Ohio) —
The Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, which opened in 2003, was Hadid's first building in America.
Mike Simons/Getty Images
Along with the ramp itself, the Austrian ski jump includes a cafe and viewing terrace.
Bergisel Ski Jump, 2002 (Innsbruck, Austria) —
Along with the ramp itself, the Austrian ski jump includes a cafe and viewing terrace.
ALEXANDER KLEIN/AFP/Getty Images
Zaha Hadid's most memorable buildings

Also included are press clippings and artifacts giving a sense of her formidable personality, but also of the journey she undertook as a woman setting out to make a difference in a male-dominated profession.

“There is a very beautiful, very large archive that will be shown, slowly and gradually,” Sultana adds, “and we’ll see a really beautiful story of someone’s life and career and what she’s left behind for us all to enjoy in the future.”

“Masterpiece London 2016”, sponsored by Royal Bank of Canada, takes place from 30 June – 6 July at Royal Hospital Chelsea, London.