What British honor was Zaha Hadid awarded in 2012?

What British honor was Zaha Hadid awarded in 2012? The answer is Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Hadid received the DBE appointment in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to architecture. The title made her “Dame Zaha Hadid,” following her earlier appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2002. In British honours terminology, DBE is the female equivalent of a knighthood for someone appointed within the order.

The honour recognized a career that had already transformed contemporary architecture. Hadid’s major works included the Vitra Fire Station in Germany, the MAXXI museum in Rome, the London Aquatics Centre, and the Guangzhou Opera House. Her buildings were known for fluid geometries, dramatic curves, and forms that challenged conventional architectural planning.

This award is sometimes confused with the Order of Merit, the Knight Bachelor distinction, or the Order of the Companions of Honour. Those are separate British honours. Hadid also became the first woman to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004, but that was an international architecture award rather than a British state honour.