The world-renowned architect Zaha Hadid has hung up during an interview with the BBC’s Today programme after a heated argument with presenter Sarah Montague.
Hadid appeared on the flagship Radio 4 current affairs show to talk about becoming the first woman to win the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture in her own right.
But the interview with the woman behind the Cardiff Bay Opera House and 2012 London Aquatics Centre descended into a bitter row after Montague brought up reports of deaths among migrant workers on projects in Qatar.
Earlier in the interview, the architect spoke about whether or not she found it harder to win the acceptance of the British establishment because people were “scared” of her.
And when Montague suggested that widespread reports of migrant deaths in Qatar might extend to workers on Hadid’s own Qatar World Cup Stadium site, she shot the presenter down.
The Qatar stadium designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid
Asked about “the Qatar stadium, where there have been considerable problems – not least the number of deaths”, Hadid said: “There haven’t been any problems actually, sorry to put you right, there hasn’t been a single problem at our site in Qatar.”
Montague pointed to reports of 12,000 migrant deaths in the country – which in fact don’t relate specifically to the World Cup stadium projects – and Hadid said: “That is absolutely inaccurate, absolutely untrue. There have been no deaths on our site whatsoever.
“You should check your information before you say anything. I’ve sued someone before [for saying that] and they had to withdraw it and apologise. You should check your facts.”
Sarah Montague (right) and John Humphrys in the Today studio (BBC)
Moving on to reports that Hadid had pulled out of bidding to design the Tokyo 2020 Olympics stadium, the architect said it was an “important story” and should be reported correctly.
When Montague then interrupted her answer, Hadid said: “Don’t ask me a question when you can’t let me finish it. Listen to me, let’s stop this conversation right now. I don’t want to carry on. Thank you very much.”
Hadid’s Royal Gold Medal was personally approved by the Queen, and recognises a person or group who significantly influences “the advancement of architecture”. Previous winners include Frank Gehry, Norman Foster and Frank Lloyd Wright.
London Aquatics Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects, London
It is the latest in an impressive list of accolades for the 64-year-old Iraqi-born designer, who opened her own practice, Zaha Hadid Architects, in London in 1979.
In 2004, she became the first female recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, considered the Nobel Prize of architecture.
She has also twice won the Stirling Prize, the UK's most prestigious architecture award, for Rome's MAXXI art museum and for the Evelyn Grace Academy, a secondary school in Brixton.
In 2012, Hadid was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire for achievements in architecture.
