Dubai: Baghdad-born architect Zaha Hadid has won a design bid for three prestigious towers at Dubai's upcoming commercial district Business Bay.
Dubai Properties, a real estate arm of Dubai Holding and developer of the Bay project, said the work of Britain-based Zaha Hadid Architects was selected after an international contest.
The design of the towers will be unveiled in New York next week, Dubai Properties said, without giving details of the buildings.
A celebrated architect, Hadid in 2004 became the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize, sometimes described as the "Nobel Prize of Architecture".
One of Hadid's current projects is for the 20,000-seat Aquatics Centre in London, which will be a venue of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
"This is the first international design competition initiated by Dubai Properties. The aim of the competition is to bring the best practices and innovations from around the world to Dubai," said Hashim Al Dabal, chief executive officer of Dubai Properties.
Besides Hadid, pitches were also submitted by Morphosis Architects of Los Angeles, RUR Architecture of New York, and Rotterdam's Office of Metropolitan Architects.
Hadid's prize-winning entry was selected by a jury who hailed her "ingenious design as a unique blend of form and function," Dubai Properties said in a statement.
"When executed, Hadid's creation will represent an inimitable interpretation of architectural excellence in Dubai that no other city has dared to dream," it added.
Dubai Properties said Hadid's design proposal is "indicative of the architect's distinctive style with the towers reflecting a dynamic fusion of volume and space."
Career graph: Celebrated architect
- Now in her 50s, Zaha Hadid has a degree in mathematics from the American University of Beirut.
- She studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.
- After graduating she became a partner at the Dutch firm Office of Metropolitan Architecture.
- In 1980 she set up her own practice in London.
- She has held prestigious posts at some of the world's top universities including Harvard and Yale.
By Shakir Husain
© Gulf News 2006
