CBE AADipl

Zaha: No architect in the world had the affect you did on AA students, graduates, colleagues or other architects. Here, there or anywhere. You always knew this was your greatest talent amongst so many others: the ability to change other architectural minds in a time when that grows increasingly improbable.

Amazingly, for a person filled with unswerving opinion, this was also one of the very few things you never commented upon, uttered a word about, or hinted an explanation for.

You lit rooms, presentations and conversations a thousand different ways, as if one of your paintings. You wrote lightning-speed late-night text messages as if miniature, instantaneous 21st century manifestos.

Everyone everywhere today is remembering you this first day of April this first day after you by sharing pictures posting stories uploading links adding comments trading memories reminding each other of you with versions of your buildings and your drawings and your paintings and your words. Which no one else could have imagined, let alone could have made. Like you did, with such ease. Thank you.

You always knew your architecture was planetary from the start. Thanks for having the patience to let architecture catch up. It will hurt not having you in the future you always cared so much about. We all will love you the way you loved architecture -- in that future. Your future. Forever, Brett

Brett Steele
Director, AA School