Let’s hear it for the wonderful Zaha Hadid,
Who by a clear mile, can make a bid,
For being the most successful female architect,
A designer with style and deep intellect.
Awarded a Dame Commander of the BE*
She has earned her place in history,
Working in London but born in Iraq,
This school was created for the charity ARK,
Which runs Brixton’s Evelyn Grace Academy,
With discipline and ardour – that’s a guarantee.
A beautiful, intelligent, use of space,
When confined to the smallest place.
Squeezed onto the tiniest of urban sites,
From every angle there’s a sight that delights.
In 2011 this won the Stirling Prize,
But then that really is no surprise.
She won the Pritzker Prize** in 2004,
Something a woman had not done before.
So now I ask at the tender age of 62,
Is there nothing this woman cannot do?

*British Empire.
**The most important architectural award.