The ambassadors of both Iraq and the United Kingdom expressed pride in Iraqi-born British architect and Pritzker Prize winner Zaha Hadid, during an opening reception for the new Dongdaemun Plaza in Seoul on Tuesday.

The new design plaza is poised for its official public opening March 21 ― more than seven years after the plans were first floated. Hadid came to Seoul to take part in a reception celebrating the new addition to the city’s mecca for 24-hour shopping. Joining her were foreign envoys, VIPs and a battalion of staff from Hadid’s London-based architecture firm.

The plaza’s bulbous metallic edifice gurgles out of the center of the country’s largest shopping and business district. It contains an art hall, museum, design lab, design market and Dongdaemun History & Culture Park.

“For us, Hadid is of Iraqi origin. Her dad (Mohammed Hadid) was the minister of finance of Iraq during the royal state of Iraq and in the Republic of Iraq. She finished her secondary school in Iraq before she left. What we are saying, really, is what a human can ignite and become given the right environment,” said Iraqi Ambassador to South Korea Khalil Al-Mosawi at the reception.

Replete with a rolling grass-covered roof, the plaza’s massive labrythine floor space promises to connect a Dongdaemun that is currently divided by a wide congested boulevard.

“The design of this building and the exhibition here give you a fantastic sense of her flare and creativity,” said British Ambassador to South Korea Scott Wightman.

(ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)