Case Closed: Zaha Hadid v. New York Review of Books and Martin Filler

Architects & Firms

A rendering of Zaha Hadid's Al Wakrah Stadium in Qatar.

Image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects

After a highly publicized five-month battle, the dust has finally settled on the lawsuit that Zaha Hadid filed against New York Review of Books (NYRB) and critic Martin Filler. Both parties have released the following statement:

On January 22, 2015, following extensive settlement negotiations, Ms. Zaha Hadid withdrew her lawsuit against the New York Review of Books and Mr. Martin Filler. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, which remain confidential, Ms. Hadid has accepted the apology of the New York Review of Books and Mr. Filler, and is pleased to announce, in conjunction with the settlement, the donation of an undisclosed sum of money to a charitable organization that protects and champions labor rights.

One of Hadid's attorneys, Gonzalo Zeballos of the law firm BakerHostetler, said in a statement, "Ms. Hadid is pleased to have put to rest this dispute, and to have resolved it in a way that demonstrates her commitment to safe and fair working conditions at construction sites around the world."

Hadid’s initial complaint, received by NYRB, August 21, 2014, alleged “false and defamatory statements” according to court documents. These referred to an article published June 5, titled “The Insolence of Architecture,” a review of the book, Why We Build: Power and Desire in Architecture by Rowan Moore. In the article, Filler said that 1,000 workers had died while constructing Hadid’s Al Wakrah Stadium designed for the 2022 world cup in Qatar. Construction had not yet begun on that project. Filler wrote that he regretted the error in NYRB’s September 25 issue.

The BakerHostetler statement claims that the Al Wakrah Stadium workers live in "high quality accomodations near the site," that there have been "no loss-time injuries since works began over a year ago," and that "the Emir of Qatar personally confirms that new laws protecting workers’ rights will be enforced."

Disclosure: This story was updated on January 26, 2015

Suzanne Stephens, a former deputy editor of Architectural Record, has been a writer, editor, and critic in the field of architecture for several decades. She has a Ph.D. in architectural history from Cornell University, and teaches a seminar in the history of architectural criticism in the architecture program of Barnard and Columbia colleges.

Anna Fixsen was a staff writer and editor for Architectural Record from 2013 to 2017, during which time she covered topics ranging from new projects to human rights, and edited Firms to Watch—a special section devoted to emerging architecture firms.