Book review: Zaha Hadid Complete Works – Limited to 200 numbered copies, delivered in a clamshell box and each signed by the architect, this Art Edition features a special cover custom-made by Zaha Hadid, a cast and high gloss polished black acrylic plate inspired by the design of the new MAXXI in Rome.

Zaha Hadid is a wildly controversial architect, who for many years built almost nothing, despite her designs winning prizes and critical acclaim. Some even said her work was unbuildable. Yet over the past decade she has completed numerous structures including the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati (which the New York Times called “the most important new building in America since the Cold War’’), thePhaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg, Germany, and the Central Building of the newBMW Assembly Plant in Leipzig.

Today, Hadid is firmly established among the élite of world architecture, her audacious and futuristic designs having catapulted her to international fame.

Born in Baghdad and educated in London, where her practice is based, Hadid has designed radical architecture for over 30 years and is now the subject of this massive TASCHEN monograph. Covering her complete works to date, from Dubai to Guangzhou, this tome demonstrates the progression of Hadid’s career—including not only buildings but also her furniture and interior designs—with in-depth texts, spectacular photos, and her own drawings. Also included is a special section with translucent vellum paper allowing multiple layers of designs to be viewed at once or separately.