The Observer

Zaha Hadid, the most acclaimed female architect of our age, has struggled for years with a hurtful dilemma. Despite her fame and success, despite an international reputation that has seen her win the biggest prizes and the most exciting commissions, and despite making London her professional headquarters for 26 years, she has never built a building in Britain. 'It's ridiculous,' she says in the vast conference room at her office in Farringdon, London. 'I have no idea why they don't choose me! I can't speculate any more. Nobody has actually come up to me and said, "They don't want you here ..."' In a few days, this peculiar state of affairs will come to an end, when her first building - small, elegant, perfectly designed for its intended use - will be unveiled in the grounds of the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, Fife. It is a tribute to a friend of hers, and unlike most buildings that go up by stellar architects these days, it has partly been made possible by the old-fashioned notion of public subscription. Hadid has worked on it for expenses only, and it may turn out to be the most life-changing piece of work she has ever been involved with.