Close friendship

The book's foreword is written by Zaha Hadid. To the world-renowned Iraqi-born British architect, Issa-Khan was so much more than a close friend.

The two first met in 2001 at Issa-Khan's first show of nature photography in London. Hadid was floored by the charm Issa-Khan's work exuded. Without hesitation, she bought a piece and hanged it in her bedroom.

Hadid would come and stay with Issa-Khan in Miami for a couple of months each year-and then Issa-Khan would repay the compliment to Hadid in London. Hadid died in Miami in 2016 after suffering a heart attack.

But even after four years of her death, Hadid remains a household name in China thanks to the numerous well-known architectures she and her team have helped build in the country. From the Beijing Galaxy SOHO to the Guangzhou Opera House and the newly opened Beijing Daxing International Airport, Hadid's ingenious and fabulous creations have changed the skyline of many a Chinese city and reshaped modern architecture.

London's Design Museum described her work as having "the highly expressive, sweeping fluid forms of multiple perspective points and fragmented geometry that evoke the chaos and flux of modern life".

Issa-Khan believes the Middle East background she shared with Hadid had a profound influence on their artistic creations. "I think we became close friends when she saw what I could do with nature because her work and mine are very similar in a way," Issa-Khan says.