Hadid Becomes First Woman To Win Architecture's Top Honor

"Zaha Hadid, the brilliant Baghdad-born British creator whose dynamic designs have energized architectural thought and practice for more than two decades, has been selected to receive the 2004 Pritzker Architecture Prize. Hadid, 53, is the first woman to be honored in the 26-year history of the award, which was created by the Hyatt Foundation to be architecture's equivalent of the Nobel Prizes....The choice of Hadid to receive what is widely thought to be architecture's most prestigious award focuses attention on the increasing stature of women in a traditionally male-dominated profession. But recognition from the Pritzker committee is perhaps late in coming. In 1991 the selection committee created a controversy when it selected American architect Robert Venturi for the prize but failed to name Denise Scott Brown, Venturi's longtime partner and wife."