Zaha Hadid Architects has paid almost $16million over the past five years in order to retain the name of the late Zaha Hadid in the practice name. The deal, reported by UK outlet Building Online, included  $4.6m (£3.4m) to use the founder’s name in 2021, $3.8m (£2.8m) in both 2020 and 2019, $1m (£780,000) in 2018, and $3.1m (£2.3m) in 2017.

The fees were paid to the Zaha Hadid Foundation, who control the trademark for the late architect. According to Building Online, the fluctuation in figures paid to the foundation are due to the fee’s link to the company’s annual turnover, which have increased gradually since 2018.

The company controlling the firm, officially named Zaha Hadid Limited (ZHL), was placed under the control of an employee-owned trust named Studio 9 in December of 2021, which saw the practice’s former parent company, Zaha Hadid Holdings, relinquish its control over ZHL. In the UK, Limited companies such as ZHL are required to publish annual accounts viewable to the general public.

“Transitioning to employee ownership through an Employee Benefit Trust, ZHL has excelled through a period of unprecedented global challenges and expanded by over 30% to a team of more than 500 dedicated professionals,” said the company in their most recent tax filing. “As the Trust has no external shareholders, we can now reinvest all profits back into the business, into our people, equipment and facilities to the benefit of all our employees.”

The fees paid by ZHL to the Zaha Hadid Foundation for use of Hadid’s name is a remnant of a long-running, well-publicized feud between the two entities. In 2018, ZHL director Patrik Schumacher sued to become the sole executor of Hadid’s $85million estate, seeking to remove three fellow executors, including Hadid’s niece, from the estate.

In 2020, the matter was settled in court, with the bulk of Hadid’s assets going to the Zaha Hadid Foundation. It was also agreed that shares in the company would be transferred to an employee trust chaired by Schumacher, leading to public confirmation of the trust’s establishment last month.

Zaha Hadid Architects are one of many large UK practices operating as an employee owned company. Earlier this month, we published a feature article on the topic, which included conversations with architecture firms in the UK and USA who have made the transition to employee ownership.