The opulence of Venice's 16th-century Palazzo Franchetti is as memorable as the designs of a particular Zaha Hadid. A can't-be-missed retrospective honoring the late architect's four-decade career opened to the public today, just in time for the hoards of visitors venturing out to the nearby 2016 Venice Biennale. Organized by the Fondazione Berengo cultural institution, this Zaha Hadid retrospective is an abridged showcase of Hadid's pioneering works that made her a designer and artist who was always ahead of her time.

The exhibition features a range of Hadid's completed, under-construction, in progress, and unbuilt projects — from her early paintings and drawings to models of ZHA's buildings that are due for completion later this year. 

A separate room will display three projects that are meant to symbolize milestones in Hadid's career: the Weil am Rhein-based Vitra Fire Station (completed 1993), ZHA's first completed project; the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati (completed 2003), which contributed to Hadid winning the 2004 Pritzker Prize; the third project is the MAXXI Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome (completed 2009), which embodies ZHA's experimentation in producing computer-aided architectural designs. 

The exhibition will also display photos of ZHA's buildings taken by notable architectural photographer Hélène Binet, who has had a longtime relationship with the practice since she first captured the Vitra Fire Station in 1992.

Now under the leadership of Patrik Schumacher, ZHA continues to move full-speed ahead. In addition to their first recent competition win post-Zaha, the firm has more projects that are due for completion this year alone: The Port House in Antwerp, the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre (KAPSARC) in Riyadh, The Mathematics Gallery at London’s Science Museum, and the New York High Line residential building that is expected to be fully built in 2017.

“Visitors to the exhibition will have a greater understanding of Zaha Hadid’s pioneering vision,” said Fondazione Berengo President Adriano Berengo. “Her work is also imbued with art, that patina that makes everything eternal, including the creator herself.”

Open until November 27, the public can visit the exhibition every day of the week for an entry fee of €10.