The Facts
The Serpentine, the Zaha Hadid Foundation, and the Architectural Association (AA) will co-present “89 Degrees of Zaha Hadid”, a two-day symposium exploring the architect’s life, work and influence. The event takes place on October 30 and 31, 2026, marking the 10th anniversary of her death and what would have been her 76th birthday on October 31. More than 40 international speakers are scheduled, including photographer Hélène Binet, architects Nigel Coates, Sir Peter Cook, Rem Koolhaas, and Madelon Vriesendorp, as well as collector Rolf Fehlbaum and patron Hayat Palumbo. The symposium is structured across three London venues: the AA on October 30, the Zaha Hadid Foundation on the morning of October 31, and Serpentine North that evening. Sessions will address her early life in Baghdad and Beirut, her student and teaching years at the AA, her pioneering architectural representations, her clients and collaborators, her cross-disciplinary design work, and the construction of her iconic public persona.
The Signal
The symposium signals a deepening institutional commitment to assessing Hadid’s full legacy a decade after her death, bringing together the foundation that bears her name, the school where she trained and taught, and a major public gallery. For architects and designers, the breadth of the speaker list—from early champions to contemporary practitioners—offers a rare multi-generational perspective on how her methods and aesthetics continue to shape the field. Collectors and curators will note the emphasis on her research-based drawing practice and her work in design fields beyond architecture, areas that have increasingly drawn market and museum interest in recent years. The choice to hold parts of the symposium at the Zaha Hadid Foundation, a dedicated archive and exhibition space on Bowling Green Lane, also reinforces the role of artist foundations in shaping scholarly and public discourse.
- Artists: Zaha Hadid
- People: Hélène Binet, Nigel Coates, Sir Peter Cook, Rolf Fehlbaum, Rem Koolhaas, Hayat Palumbo, Madelon Vriesendorp
- Museums: Serpentine, Zaha Hadid Foundation, Architectural Association
- Locations: London
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