• Star architect Zaha Hadid dies aged 65 from heart attack

    Architect Dame Zaha Hadid, whose designs include the London Olympic Aquatic Centre, has died aged 65.

    Iraqi-born, this year she was the first woman to receive the Royal Institute of British Architects Gold Medal in recognition of her work.

    She died following a heart attack on Thursday in a Miami hospital, where she was being treated for bronchitis.

    Her designs have been commissioned around the world, including Hong Kong, Germany and Azerbaijan.

    Collecting her Gold Medal in February, Dame Zaha said she was proud to have been the first woman to win in her own right.

    "We now see more established female architects all the time," she said.

    "That doesn't mean it's easy. Sometimes the challenges are immense. There has been tremendous change over recent years and we will continue this progress."

    Dame Zaha's other creations include the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in London, the Riverside Museum at Glasgow's Museum of Transport, and Guangzhou Opera House in China.

    Born in Baghad, she studied maths at Beirut University before embarking on her career at the Architectural Association in London.

    In 1979 she set up her own company - Zaha Hadid Architects.

    Her first major commission to be constructed was the Vitra Fire Station in Weil am Rhein in Germany.