Zaha Hadid Architects has rebranded as ZHA, the studio announced on social media. The office also has a new visual identity and website. Patrik Schumacher said in a statement the renaming is a “natural brand evolution.” (Schumacher won the rights to make the name change last March in court.)
The rebrand is happening as “the final projects led by our founder near completion ten years after her passing,” ZHA said.
A spokesperson for ZHA told AN:
“Going forward, we will be known as ZHA, marking the evolution of our practice through a new name, visual identity and website. This announcement reflects both the practice we are today and the future we are building, as an employee-owned, interdisciplinary collective shaped by the talent, creativity and expertise across our studios and teams worldwide. The practice remains deeply rooted in its history and in its commitment to forever advancing the pioneering architecture for which it has always been known.”
ZHA also announced it terminated its licensing agreement with the Zaha Hadid Foundation (ZHF), the London-based philanthropic group Zaha Hadid founded before her death in 2016. This means ZHA will no longer have to pay 6 percent of its annual earnings to the ZHF, which cumulatively amounted to over $27 million between 2018 and 2024.
Legal battles between Schumacher, Hadid’s relatives, and the ZHF started in 2016, coinciding with Hadid’s death. Schumacher fought over Hadid’s estate valued at $133 million with her niece Rana Hadid, artist Brian Clarke, and property developer Peter Palumbo.
In 2018, Schumacher sued to become the sole executor of Hadid’s estate. In 2020, a justice ruled that most of Hadid’s estate would go to the ZHF, not Schumacher. The saga continued in 2024 when high court judge Adam Johnson sided with the ZHF; he mandated ZHA to continue paying 6 percent of its revenue to the foundation. Earlier this year, high court judge Colin Birss reversed Johnson’s decision, and ruled that the contract between ZHA and ZHF signed in 2014 was not meant to last in perpetuity. The 2026 ruling by Birss gave Schumacher the rights to both change the office’s name and end its contractual relationship with the ZHF, culminating in this latest rebrand.
“We’re operating across six continents with 100 projects in development and construction,” Schumacher said. “ZHA means a new stage, a new chapter.