Video Full Ceremony Zaha Hadid The Pritzker Architecture Prize [2004 Laureate Acceptance Speech]

Dear Cindy Pritzker, Tom Pritzker and Pritzker Family, dear members of the jury, friends and colleagues,ladies and gentlemen, this is a great honor, and to be honest … it is a delicious pleasure to receive this very special award.
We all have to thank the Pritzkers for promoting innovative architecture in this special way.
When I met Jay and Cindy Pritzker with the Palumbos at Mies’s Farnsworth House seven years ago I had no idea that I myself would one day be able to enjoy their generous sponsorship of architecture.
The honor of this prize comes at a very busy time, and affords me a welcome break for reflection. I would like to take this moment as an opportunity-I guess long overdue-to thank my family,
friends, teachers, students, collaborators and clients-who supported me for so many years, who share my passion for architecture, and who continue to encourage me in my ambitions. Thank you all-I really appreciate this.
There are some names I should mention in particular: Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis have been crucial as my teachers. Their understanding and enthusiasm for architecture first ignited my ambition and their encouragement taught me to trust even my strangest intuitions.
The late Alvin Boyarsky-the fantastic chairman of the Architectural Association during my student years and years as teacher-offered me my first platform to expose my ideas. He cut a clearing into the professional world of architecture-to erect a platform for experimentation.
The late Peter Rice deserves acknowledgement as a brilliant engineer who gave me his weighty support and encouragement early on, at a time when my work seemed difficult to build.
I would like to thank Rolf Fehlbaum for his commitment and faith as the client who granted me the time and artistic freedom to cast my vision of space into concrete for the first time.
Naturally my oeuvre is the work of many talents and many more hard working hands.
As the work expands one of the prime tasks is to forge a group of inspired collaborators: Michael Wolfson and Brian Ma Siy at the beginning, Markus Dochantschi, as well. Currently my team leaders include among others: Graham Modlen, Woody Yao, Jim Heverin, Christos Passas, Stephane Hof,
Sarah Klomps, Gianluca Racana, Paola Cattarin, Ken Bostock and Jan Hübener.

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I miss Zaha Hadid so much!

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Me too, gone too soon I wish she was still alive. 😢

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26:23 💞