Zaha Hadid Architects has paid almost $16million over the past five years in order to retain the name of the late Zaha Hadid in the practice name. The deal, reported by UK outlet Building Online, included $4.6m (£3.4m) to use the founder’s name in 2021, $3.8m (£2.8m) in both 2020 and 2019, $1m (£780,000) in 2018, and $3.1m (£2.3m) in 2017.
The fees were paid to the Zaha Hadid Foundation, who control the trademark for the late architect. According to Building Online, the fluctuation in figures paid to the foundation are due to the fee’s link to the company’s annual turnover, which have increased gradually since 2018.1
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- 1. The company controlling the firm, officially named Zaha Hadid Limited (ZHL), was placed under the control of an employee-owned trust named Studio 9 in December of 2021, which saw the practice’s former parent company, Zaha Hadid Holdings, relinquish its control over ZHL. In the UK, Limited companies such as ZHL are required to publish annual accounts viewable to the general public.