Zaha Hadid, the renowned architect of the Olympics Aquatics Centre in London, has won the Aenne Burda Award for Creative Leadership at the International Digital-Life-Design (DLD) Conference in Munich, Germany.

The award, which celebrates female digital entrepreneurs, was presented to the Iraqi-British architect on January 21 for her visionary architectural work.

John Maeda, Rhode Island School of Design President, said of the world-famous architect: “Leaders are needed when times are changing, creative leaders change times themselves. They make things – like Zaha. She’s unafraid to disrupt, she’s very optimistic. Today we celebrate her incredible optimism.”

Hadid’s completed projects include the Guangzhou Opera House, China, the MAXXI-Museum of the Arts of the 21st Century Italy, and the Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton, UK. The Creative Leadership award has been celebrated annually since 2006, with past winners including Esther Dyson (2009), Mitchell Baker (2010), Natalie Massenet (2011) and Arianna Huffington (2012)