Which architect is the principal of Zaha Hadid Architects after her death?

Patrik Schumacher is the principal architect of Zaha Hadid Architects after Zaha Hadid’s death.

Schumacher, a German architect and architectural theorist, joined Hadid’s studio in 1988 while working on the Vitra Fire Station. He later became a director and a key partner in the practice’s projects. After Hadid died in 2016, he became the firm’s leading figure and sole remaining partner.

He is closely associated with parametricism, a design approach using computational tools to relate multiple architectural variables. Schumacher introduced the term in architectural discourse and helped develop the theoretical framework behind many of the studio’s fluid, digitally designed forms.

The answer is sometimes confused with other prominent architects who collaborated with or influenced Hadid, including Rem Koolhaas, one of her former employers and teachers. Norman Foster and Daniel Libeskind are major architects in their own right, but neither became principal of Hadid’s practice.