Six months after the Japanese government approved Hadid’s proposals, the country’s parliament has signalled a reverse in its support.

Hakubun Shimomura, the minister in charge of education, sports and science, said that the New National Stadium would cost 300 billion yen (£1.8 billion) to build and that was “too massive a budget”.

The design of the 80,000-seat stadium will be preserved but Mr Shimomura said: “We need to rethink this and scale it down.” — standard.co.uk

The striking exoskeleton structure of the upper section is an interwoven network of supports that vary in thickness and lend a natural aesthetic to the yacht’s external appearance; evoking the organic structural systems found in nature.

This exoskeleton connects the various levels and decks seamlessly via expressive diagonals. Where traditional yacht design adheres to a strict horizontal order, Hadid has created an intense connectivity between the various decks and elements of the design. — superyachts.com

Answer: Baku, Azerbaijan, where the government is spending an estimated $6 billion a year on architecture projects. As we wrote in February, Azerbaijan’s leaders want to make their capital city a destination for the rich and fabulous. The latest example: the Heydar Aliyev Center designed by Zaha Hadid, for whom it offered the rare opportunity of nearly total design freedom. Every roof and ceiling panel is different, Hadid says. — nytimes.com

Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki has gathered a throng of designers including Toyo Ito, Sou Fujimoto, Kengo Kuma and Riken Yamamoto to oppose the design of Zaha Hadid's 2020 Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.

Maki, who was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1993, has organised a symposium where Japanese architects will protest against the scale of the proposed 80,000-seat stadium, which is set to become the main sporting venue for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games. — Dezeen

For the sake of argument, let's say that Bashar al-Assad is on the phone. He wants her to build him a prison in Damascus. "Well, I wouldn't mind building in Syria," she shrugs. "I'm an Arab and if it helps people, if it's an opera house or a parliament building, something for the masses, I would do it. But if someone asks me to build a prison, I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't build a prison, irrespective of where it is, even if it was very luxurious." — the guardian

The Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP) is a philanthropic body, dedicated to preserving local culture. It recently wrote to RIBA after the architectural body awarded Zaha Hadid Architects' Galaxy Soho complex a 2013 International Award for architectural excellence, chastising RIBA's choice of winner. — phaidon.com

The 11-story development will feature approximately 37 residences of up to 5,500 square feet, focusing on expansive, gracious layouts with 11-foot ceilings, thoughtful technological integration and state-of-the-art finishes and features. Designed with multiple elevator cores, a majority of the residences will have a private vestibule and entrance that adds to the intimacy of the building. — prnewswire.com

“I have always appreciated those who dare to experiment with materials and proportions,” Hadid stated. “Our collaboration with United Nude reinterprets the classic shoe typology, pushing the boundaries of what is possible without compromising integrity.” — wwd.com

The Zaha Hadid-designed Riverside Museum: Scotland’s Museum of Transport and Travel keeps raking in recognitions [...]: the new Glasgow museum attraction just won the prestigious European Museum of the Year Award 2013, presented by the European Museum Forum. The announcement was made at a special awards ceremony at EMF's annual assembly hosted by the Gallo Romeins Museum in Tongeren in Belgium, EMYA Winner in 2011. — bustler.net

She has become a global brand so desirable that her buildings in China are now being pirated – before they are even finished. So what territory is left to conquer?

The answer might be found by peering through the windows of an innocuous looking building on Clerkenwell Road in east London, which opened this week as the Zaha Hadid Design Gallery, part of Clerkenwell Design Week. — guardian.co.uk

Referring to younger staff variously as “kids” or “the children”, Dame Zaha, cloaked in black and with smudges of fuchsia on both her eyes and lips, says she is approachable.

Those who know her (and prefer not to be named) characterise her as volcanic – she blows up but then it’s over. There are no lasting grudges. Her business partner, architect Patrik Schumacher, says the explosions are the byproduct of “uncompromising standards”, suggesting such bust-ups are normal in creative offices. — ft.com

Philip Michael Wolfson is an architect from Philadelphia. He was Zaha Hadid's head of design for ten years and now runs his own studio where he works on sculptural pieces and interior architecture. In this episode of Art Talk, we visit Philip in his London studio and he discusses his creative process and shows us a recent piece called "Tsukumogami." — vice.com

In a damning indictment of the prevailing culture of her own profession, Dame Zaha Hadid, the world's leading female architect, says she has faced "more misogynist behaviour" in London than anywhere else in Europe and that things are not improving at all for women in architecture. — guardian.co.uk

Earlier this week, Zaha Hadid was presented the Aenne Burda Award for Creative Leadership at the Digital Life Design (DLD) Conference in Munich, Germany. The Award for Creative Leadership honors women for outstanding entrepreneurial and creative achievement. — bustler.net