Dezeen managing editor Olivia Mull picks the quotes that sum up the year in architecture and design, covering untimely deaths, Patrik Schumacher's calls to scrap social housing, and Kanye West's foray into flat-pack furniture.

"Architecture is not a medium of personal expression for me" ? Zaha Hadid
In February, just a month before her unexpected death, Zaha Hadid became the first woman to receive the Royal Gold Medal for architecture in her own right.
The Iraqi-born British architect used her Royal Gold medal speech to reject claims that her architecture is self-indulgent and wilful, and voice the fact she felt "widely misunderstood" by the mainstream. Hadid said that projects like her Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku were driven by an ambition for architectural progress, rather than personal indulgences. Read the full story ?

"Zaha Hadid was a combination of beauty and strength" ? Rem Koolhaas
After the news of Hadid's sad passing broke in March, tributes poured in from architects around the world. In an exclusive interview, Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas told Dezeen about his longstanding friendship with Zaha Hadid, describing her as "basically family" to him.
The OMA founder also hit out at Western architecture press for acting as a self-appointed Amnesty International towards her projects in Eastern countries, reiterating comments Hadid had made previously herself.
Read the full interview ?

"Plastic is a ...