Archinect - News

Zaha Hadid Architects still wed to costly licensing agreement, UK court says

2025-01-02T13:42:00-05:00

A legal ruling has disfavored Zaha Hadid Architects in their attempt to extract themselves from a licensing agreement with the Zaha Hadid Foundation that dictates the annual payment of royalty fees equal to 6% of the firm's annual net income.

According to the first reports from British outlet The Times, "[Patrik] Schumacher said the agreement was only intended to provide Hadid with an income during her lifetime to regularise a 'rather haphazard system of Dame Zaha claiming remuneration and expenses on an ad hoc basis' which could lead to press scrutiny."

The London-based practice, which is unable to exit the agreement, reported a turnover worth close to $86 million in 2023. Zaha Hadid Architects has paid a total of £21.4 million (appx. $26.5 million USD) to the foundation through the agreement since 2018.

Donation by Zaha Hadid Foundation creates scholarships for students from low-income households

2022-03-09T10:09:00-05:00

The London School of Architecture has announced a scholarship program for students from low-income households. The initiative will see three recipients each awarded £36,000 (approximately $47,000), covering the full fees and associated costs of the LSA’s two-year MArch program. The funding for the scholarship was made viable due to a donation from the Zaha Hadid Foundation.

The initiative is aimed at promising prospective Masters students from low-income backgrounds, defined as those whose household income is below £25,000 ($32,000). To qualify, applicants must either be over 25 and not financially dependent on parents or under 25 and not financially dependent on parents. The scholarship is also open to refugees who would otherwise be unable to pursue their studies, even if financially dependent on parents or relatives.

While the scholarship is aimed at all students from low-income backgrounds, the school also strongly encourages applications from students with “particular inter...

Zaha Hadid Foundation announces new leadership and museum effort

2022-03-07T20:14:00-05:00

The long-awaited inaugural phase of what will eventually serve as the future home of London’s Zaha Hadid Foundation (ZHF) is now set to go after the organization announced a new museum and research center initiative slated for two locations in the adopted hometown of its late namesake.

The two sites will be split between the former location of London’s Design Museum at Shad Thames, which was acquired by ZHF in 2013, and the studio’s longtime Clerkenwell home in Bowling Green Lane, which it vacated last year citing concerns over workspace limitations during COVID.

Together they will house a collection of more than 10,000 objects including paintings, sketches, furniture, fashion design, jewelry, models, and other media that are all either directly from or related to the life’s work of the first woman ever to win the Pritzker Prize.

Furthermore, the foundation announced the appoi...