Zaha Hadid, a pioneering architect and the first female recipient of the Pritzker Prize, died in March at the age of sixty-five. Her vision and ambition have been rightfully celebrated around the world in the weeks since. But her passing also offers a moment to reflect critically on the state of contemporary architecture.

Not so long ago, the world’s leading architects debated how architecture could be used to transform society by providing housing for workers, improving public health, and fostering social solidarity. Today, global architecture is peopled with “starchitects” like Hadid who specialize in mega projects for the global elite.

Some of the starchitects’ projects are beautiful, to be sure. But they also often waste public money, facilitate corrupt and exploitative practices, and strengthen a planning model that excludes the populace from decision-making.