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Zaha Hadid Architects has shared new construction photos of its Central Bank of Iraq Headquarters design in Baghdad. Sitting on a narrow site right by the Tigris River, the tower's exoskeleton rises from a podium and gradually widens upwards to reach a height of 560 feet. The late Zaha Hadid is... View full entry
Marlon Blackwell Architects has been selected as the designer of an important new memorial to veterans and service members lost during America’s decades-long War on Terror on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Arkansas-based firm was announced as the project’s lead following a search... View full entry
The Mosul Cultural Museum was targeted and almost destroyed by the so-called Islamic State (Isis) when the terrorist group took over the Iraqi city in 2014. Less than a decade later, the partially restored museum has restarted its activities once again. — The Art Newspaper
The museum won’t fully reopen until the reconstruction is completed in 2026 following the plans of its original architect, Mohamed Makiya. It joins a slate of other important restoration projects in the city, led by the somewhat controversial UNESCO-backed reconstructions of Al-Nouri... View full entry
The UNESCO-led effort to restore the historic Al-Nouri Mosque in Mosul has come to a halt this week after recent discoveries and feedback from the community have prompted a change of direction from the cultural agency. The Art Newspaper reports that the restoration was placed on hold after months... View full entry
But in many circles, it has done anything but, prompting an uproar among architects, urban planners and some Mosul residents who say it ignores Iraqi heritage. Perhaps in a nod to the United Arab Emirates, which is footing the bill, the winning design features cream-colored brick and straight angles of the kind found in the Gulf — a contrast to the arches, blue-veined local alabaster and limestone of traditional Mosul buildings. — The New York Times
An 8-member team of Egyptian architects had initially been selected from a lot of 123 for their "Courtyards Dialogue" proposal that will add a cultural center and school to a storied 12th-century mosque complex. The mosque features a leaning minaret that earned its famous nickname of "The... View full entry
UNESCO has unveiled plans for the reconstruction of the Al-Nouri Mosque complex in Mosul, Iraq. The proposal, titled “Courtyards Dialogue”, was pieced together by Egyptian architects Salah El Din Samir Hareedy, Khaled Farid El-Deeb, Sherif Farag Ebrahim, Tarek Ali Mohamed, Noha Mansour Ryan... View full entry
After a five-week lockdown, several conservation projects have begun in earnest in Mosul as part of a Unesco programme aimed at restoring the rich heritage of the war-ravaged Iraqi city’s old quarter. Restoration work funded by Germany has begun on the Al-Aghawat mosque, houses are being refurbished with the aid of the European Union, and the rehabilitation of the Dominican Al-Saa’a church is under way with funding from the United Arab Emirates. — The Art Newspaper
Rebuilding efforts are underway in Mosul, Iraq as part of UNESCO's Revive the Spirit of Mosul initiative launched in February 2018. The program aims to reconstruct not only the heavily war-damaged Old City but also foster social reconciliation and trust in the local population after years under... View full entry
Rifat Chadirji, a world renowned international architect from Iraq, has passed away in London following a positive diagnosis for COVID-19. Chadirji was born in on December 6, 1926 and passed away April 10, 2020. Throughout a long career, Chadirji helped to develop and propagate a new... View full entry
"People know Mosul's Old City by its riverfront - it has some of the city's most important historic features," Fethi added, referring to the city's old wall, the citadel, palaces and other heritage sites along the Tigris' west bank.
"It [the council] should aim to preserve Mosul's heritage rather than turn [it] into another Dubai ... an absolute anathema to what should be done."
— Al Jazeera
Two years after Iraqi forces regained full control of Mosul from ISIL, local authorities are pushing a proposal to transform historic neighborhoods along the west bank of the Tigris river into a modernized “new city”, with high rises, large supermarkets and restaurant chains. Al Jazeera... View full entry
Since 1983, Iraq has lobbied to have Babylon, the "Mesopotamian metropolis," recognized as an official World Heritage Site. For three decades, Iraq persisted until finally, on July 5th, a committee met in Azerbaijan to vote for the city to be recognized by UNESCO. According to a piece in Al... View full entry
Launched on the Google Arts & Culture platform today, the project includes drone footage of ancient sites and structures like the ziggurat in Borsippa and the Archway of Ctesiphon, 3D models of now lost architecture, like Babylon’s famous Ishtar Gate, and documentation of sites that have been damaged or destroyed by Isis, including Nimrud, Hatra and Mosul. — The Art Newspaper
"Using drone footage, 3D models and videos, the tech giant is working with cultural institutions to make preservation efforts accessible to a larger public," The Art Newspaper reports.View the Preserving Iraq's Heritage online exhibition here. View full entry
The problems: how to conserve extraordinary monumental heritage in Iraq and Syria [...]. The issue is exacerbated by the depletion of skilled craftspeople; once the dust of conflict settles, there will be few able to carry out restoration. At the same time, thousands sit in refugee camps, lives on hold, seeking a future.
The solution: train refugees to become the craftspeople and conservators of the future. Give them a skill to help restore their nation’s heritage.
— The Art Newspaper
Photo: World Monuments Fund.Learn more about the World Monuments Fund’s new stone masonry training center for Syrian refugees in Mafraq, Jordan (backed by the UK government’s Cultural Protection Fund) here. View full entry
While UN satellite analysis suggests about 10,000 buildings have been severely damaged or completely destroyed, the real level of destruction is believed to be higher.
Taking into account damage to multiple floors of buildings, not seen via satellites, the UN now estimates the real number of damaged buildings to be more than three times greater - about 32,000.
— BBC News
Lucy Rodgers, Nassos Stylianou & Daniel Dunford provide an in depth examination of the architectural/urban impacts (what to speak of the personal, loss of lives etc.) of the, nine months long, battle for Mosul. View full entry
One of the tallest surviving structures from the ancient world has been totally destroyed by Isil extremists at Nimrud, the former capital of Assyria, which was captured by Iraqi government forces on 13 November. The ziggurat, which was nearly 2,900 years old, was obliterated. Only the largest Egyptian pyramids are higher than Middle Eastern ziggurats and central American step pyramids.
[...] incidents represent “the worst damage that Isil has inflicted on Iraqi archaeology”.
— theartnewspaper.com
An older satellite photo from August 31, 2016 shows the Ziggurat and Temple of Ishtar still intact. Image via ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives Facebook page.Related stories in the Archinect news:Destruction of Iraq’s oldest Christian monastery by ISIS militants went unreported for... View full entry
During his time in power, as head of state and as leader of the all-powerful, secularist Ba’th party, Saddam would oversee an unprecedented program of monumental development across the historic city of Baghdad. This was not limited to monuments of war and hollow bronze shells, but enormous palatial complexes, museums, art galleries, and civic squares [...] marshal it, awkwardly, unevenly, into the post-industrial age, a modern city shaped by the aspirations and egotistical tastes of a despot. — failedarchitecture.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:Iraq honors Zaha Hadid with commemorative stamp — which features rejected Tokyo stadium designDestruction of Iraq’s oldest Christian monastery by ISIS militants went unreported for 16 months View full entry
