The city of Salerno, some 60.5 km south of Naples, gained a major new architectural icon this week. A 50,000 sq. ft., €15 million maritime terminal, it's also the first project by ZHA to be inaugurated after their principal Zaha Hadid passed away last month.

Before the inauguration ceremony, portraits of the late architecture were plastered around the city. "Goodbye Zaha Hadid, Genius and Modernity. Inspiration and Transformation, Light that takes shape," they read. "Salerno will proudly care for and cherish the Maritime Terminal.” Half of the 400-person firm reportedly travelled to Salerno for the ceremony.

Actually, rather than a new project, the Salerno terminal was twelve years in the making, with contractor bankruptcies and other financial woes creating major delays. As such, the building was designed the old way: while computers were beginning to be used, the project was designed mainly with models and drafting.

Paola Cattarin, the project architect, describes to the Times: "It was an intense moment for the office... We were still a small office of 15 or 20.”

To find out more about the future of ZHA post Zaha, listen to our conversation with Patrik Schumacher on Archinect Sessions.

For more Archinect coverage on the passing of Dame Hadid, check out these links:

• Zaha Hadid Dies at Age 65
• "Dame Zaha Hadid was an inspirational woman, and the kind of architect one can only dream of being"
• The architecture community reacts to Dame Hadid's death on social media
• The remarkable early paintings of the late Dame Zaha Hadid
• Zaha on Zaha: "I always thought, you know, I should do well because the work is good."
• “We just loved her”: Frank Gehry remembers Zaha Hadid
• The extra-architectural ventures of Zaha Hadid