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ROLE OF GLOBAL MODERNITY ON REGIONAL IRAQI MODERN ARCHITECTURE

-Ghada Al-Slik and Inaam Al-Bazzaz The 16 TH International Docomomo
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8-e-123
ROLE OF GLOBAL MODERNITY ON REGIONAL IRAQI MODERN ARCHITECTURE
Ghada Al-Slik and Inaam Al-Bazzaz
1 University of Baghdad, College of Engineering, Department of Architecture, ghada.alslik@coeng.uobaghdad.
edu.iq, ghadamrs@gmail.com
2 University of Baghdad, College of Engineering, Department of Architecture, Inaam.Bazzaz@coeng.uobaghdad.
edu.iq : inaam.bazzaz@yahoo.com
1. INTRODUCTION.
The impact of global modernity started to influence Ira-
qi cities since the 1930s. Yet, in the 1950s the government in-
vited through the development board of Iraq the masters of
modern architecture then to build in Iraq. After 1958, foreign
architects were not given tasks, instead the government
turned to the Iraqi architects for the governmental build-
ings. Their works in the 1960s and 1970s were described by
critics as the approach to create a contemporary Iraqi archi-
tecture, mainly with regional characteristics. The argument
of this paper is that what rose after the 50s was a regional-
ized modernity greatly influenced by the presence of the
masters of international modernity with their projects and
thoughts in the previous era. That will be traced through the
projects and the discourse of architecture then.
2. BEGINNINGS OF GLOBAL INFLUENCE ON
ARCHITECTURE IN IRAQ.
After WW1 the modern state of Iraq was established in
1921. Once more, Baghdad became the new capital of a young
kingdom under British mandate. However, the city itself be-
gan a new journey towards building a state with a new phys-
ical and cultural infrastructure, new buildings were built to
meet the administrative and service requirements of the
city by British architects who were officers in the British mil-
itary campaign that came from India. This included James
M. Wilson who designed the Al-Bayt University. The civilian
airport of was designed by Harold Mason, while J. B. Cooper
designed the royal cemetery.1 Those British architects had
the position of GA (Government Architect) until Ahmad
Mukhtar Ibrahim, the first Iraqi architect the designer of the
Olympic Club in Al-Adhamiyyah (Fig. 1A-a).
New architectural styles began to influence the city
scene that existed for centuries. The traditional home began
to change and adapt to the European classical style and
some features from the art deco school of architecture. Ear-
ly pioneers of Iraqi architecture began to make contribu-
tions within the new creative environment that had tradi-
tional, classical, and modern elements.2 Early signs of
change in the urban fabric began to emerge when Al-Rash-
eed Street was opened to vehicle traffic for the first time in
Baghdad in 1908. The British completed the street and called
it the new road before it took on the name of Caliph Al-Rash-
eed to become the new lifeline of commercial activity in the
city. Buildings that were built along the street took on a spe-
106 The 16TH International Docomomo Conference - Inheritable Resilience - 8. Global / Local Modernitites
cial architectural style that distinguishes it from other a b
streets in the city (Fig. 1A-b).
One of the most prominent urban changes that took
place in Baghdad was the emergence of new suburbs out-
side the historic center or the walled heart of the city. New
areas emerged. The traditional urban fabric was maintained
with the addition of the “Garden City” suburbs along the
lines of Western modern urban planning.3 The new areas
presented a new feature that was not present in the tradi-
tional areas in the heart of the city.
c d
3. THE IRAQI MODERNITY.
By the 1950s the urban picture of Baghdad was turned
upside down. New streets that cut through the traditional
fabric increased and the suburbs expanded, prompting ef-
forts to come up with basic urban planning for the city or
parts of it. However, the influence of modernism thinking
on the society has been the great.
All facets of life in Baghdad moved toward modernism
e dur
and artistic groups were established and many galleries full
of the works of Iraqi artists, such as Jawad Selim, Fa’iq
Hasan, and Hafiz Al-Droubi opened its doors to exhibit
works of art in expressionist, abstract, and cubism styles.
Young Iraqi poets, such as Badr Shakir Al-Sayyab, Nazik
Fig. 1A. Infulences of global modernity. a- Royal Ceme-
Al-Malaikah, engaged in a new experiment that took the tra- tery, Cooper, Baghdad 1934. © Al Slik archive. b- Rasheed
ditional forms of Arab poetry to new horizons, likewise, tra- Street, Baghdad, 1944. © Al Slik archive. c- Gymnasium,
ditional Arabic music also went through modern transfor- Le Corbusier, Baghdad. © Al Slik photos archive. d- Gate
of the University of Baghdad, and a typical courtyard, Gro-
mations and similar attempts in cinema and television were pius, 1957. © Al Slik. e- Elevation of the American Embas-
made. Art societies were established and art galleries were sy in Baghdad, Sert, 1955. City of Mirage 2008 Exhibition
built. Progress somehow was linked to the Western model or book. f- Building of Commerce Rifa Chaderji. © Al Slik. g-
College of Education, by Mohammed Makia, Baghdad.
modern thinking, and the number of science colleges and f g © Al Slik
institutes and their graduates greatly increased. A special
council that was named the Development Council was cre-
ated to build large factories, oil refineries, electric power sta-
tions, Baghdad’s landscape became pierced by high rise Frank Lloyd Wright who designed the opera house of Bagh- design was based on the use of the courtyard type. The use
buildings that changed its traditional look and with the in- dad 1957 (but unfortunately it was not built), Le Corbusier of courtyards in the dormitories was different giving more
troduction of new materials and methods of construction who designed an Olympic campus 1957, (it was not built in privacy by splitting the levels and using smaller windows. In
the horizontal line of the city changed and became filled that time, because of the change of site, the design was re- addition to these systems, Gropius designed a tower in the
with multi-story buildings and concrete structures with vised by Le Corbusier Foundation in the 70s and the main middle of the scientific area as the main administration of
modern finishing materials that replaced the traditional gymnasium was built in1979 / Fig. 1A-c). the university, and a land mark of the university. The main
forms and features.4 Gropius, who designed the University of Baghdad in a gate was an abstracted semi-circular arch with an opening
site which he chose by himself, designed the whole campus in the middle symbolizing the non-limited nature of science
in 1957–1958. In the campus design (which was not known and open mind. Main gate and the main office building were
4. WORK OF INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTS IN IRAQ
before in Iraqi architecture) he separated the scientific heart built in 1963, but later in early 80s, and with the increase in
In this period the most well-known architects in the from the dormitories and services with a ring road adjacent the number of students which made the original capacity of
world were invited to design buildings in Baghdad, including to water canal. Both the scientific part and the dormitories’ the design not appropriate, (Fig. 1A-d). Gio Ponti was asked
ROLE OF GLOBAL MODERNITY ON REGIONAL IRAQI MODERN ARCHITECTURE - Ghada Al-Slik and Inaam Al-Bazzaz 107
 to design the building of the development board which was
established to conduct a plan for a construction wave in all
fields in the 50s, after designing it, the building became the
ministry of planning and continued to be till now, Jose Lou-
is Sert, was asked by the American Embassy in Baghdad to
design a complex for the embassy, ambassador house, few
flats for the employees, and service buildings. He used mod-
ern screening systems to decrease the effect of the sun
waves and heat, and elaborated them with louvers in the
Facades5 (Fig. 1A-e).
5. MAIN INFLUENCEs OF GLObAL MODERNITY ON
IRAQI ARCHITECTURE:
5.1. Expressiveness and Abstraction of Traditional Types
and Features.
First buildings designed by Iraqi architects who studied
architecture abroad, were simple typical plane buildings, not
related to their contexts, and that was due to their back-
ground. But along with the designs and visits of those great
architects in Baghdad came new ideas and discussions in
meetings and seminars in the city that was in the height of
its cultural activity. So, in this atmosphere, there arose the
discourse of how contemporary Iraqi architecture should
be?6 This cultural and intellectual discourse in art and archi-
tecture resulted in the establishment of the first Iraq school
of architecture, which the department of architecture, col-
lege of engineering, University of Baghdad in 1959. Academic
and professional sectors were influenced by the designs of
the masters and also by the ideas which Iraqi architects dis-
cussed with them, concerning the special environment and
the character of the cities and their history. After the estab-
lishment of the republic of Iraq in 1958, the tendency of the
government was not to ask foreign architects, and ask Iraqis
instead. Here came the chance to the young ambitious Iraq
architects then to start their own approach.
In the 1960s Iraqi architects began to present new ideas
and designs for an Iraqi architecture that intersected with
modern times and achieved a balance between the space
and the natural and social environments. The new designs
presented modern uses of local materials ,the main func-
tional and (mass/space) element was the courtyard, it was
elaborated in the campus of Mustansiryia University (as we
will see), but also it was used in office building with the mass
around it, this clear in the design building of the Mayoralty
of Baghdad by Hisham Munir and Nasir Al Asadi, Water ad-
ministration building by Mahmood Al Ali, Foreign affair
ministry by Saeed Ali Madhloom, College of Education By
Mohamed Makyia, College of Pharmacy By Hisham Munir.
Those buildings were designed between the ’60s and ’70s but
some of them were not built till the ’80s7 (Fig. 1A-g).
As for the form, Iraqi architects like Rifa Chaderji, Mo-
hamed Makyia, Qahtan Awni, Nasir Al Asadi worked on
ways to abstract the historic and traditional arches, creating
compositions in elevations out of the simplified features,
108 The 16TH International Docomomo Conference - Inheritable Resilience - 8. Global / Local Modernitites
like turning the arch into triangle, In this was they could
achieve expressiveness, but we can see the influence of Sert
and Gropius, in courtyard elaboration, elevations expres-
sions, and the Le Corbusier abstraction, in addition to keep-
ing the modern functional plan, (Fig. 1A-f / Fig. 1B-h / Fig.
1B-i).
5.2. Campus Design and Zoning
As said above Walter Gropius, introduced the first mod-
ern campus planning and design in Iraq, in his ideal project
“the University of Baghdad” (1958–1960). In this project, Gro- h i j
pius established a new physical plant and a new philosophy
of education, by making use of and profiting from the expe-
rience of major western universities, and by considering also
the conditions, the traditions and the prospects for develop-
ment of Iraq.
The buildings of the “Al-Mustansiriya University” com-
plex in Baghdad (1963–66), represent what might has been
the most important event in the process of giving birth to a
new Iraqi architecture, influenced by modernity. The com-
plex is considered the first modern campus planning, de-
k L
signed by an Iraqi architect (Qahtan Awni).8
Fig. 1B. Influences of Global Modernity on Iraqi Architecture. h- Mayoralty of Baghdad, Nasir Al-Asadi and Hisham Munir. © Al Slik. i- Khan Al-Basra, Abdulla Ih-
The architecture of Al-Mustansiriya University derived
san. © Al Slik archive. j- University of Mustansiriya by Awni. © City of Mirage exhibition 2008 cataloque. k- Social Insurance Building, Hisham. © Al Slik. l- Univer-
its importance and uniqueness by being a complex of build- sity of Mustansiriya by Qahtan Awni. © Al Slik
ings, and through the mechanisms of “intertextuality”, the
architect was eager to summon the scheme of the old
Al-Mustansiriyah School (1227–1233) of Baghdad, the plan of
which was based on a large open courtyard surrounded by a
classroom building mass. The architect, influenced by mo- cal conditions of climate, land formation, Hisham Munir in- ernment in the 1956 invited Constantinos Doxiadis to make
dernity, had no intention to “clone” the design solution for troduced a new language in the “facades” of his buildings: master plans for the main Iraqi cities; among them was the
that yard, but rather proceeded to divide it from the middle, with repetitive three-dimensional sculptural components9 city of Baghdad.10 The Master plan submitted was based on
with a deliberate displacement, creating a major “street”, the system of baffles and “eyebrows”, protecting the exterior linear expansion along both sides of Tigress River, shaping a
that represented the backbone of the university plan, and walls against exposure to the sun and excessive heat, was rectangle with dimensions of 18 x 31 sq. km. The plan adopt-
from it branched the “arms” that reached the various de- elaborated into a design factor that gave rhythm and depth ed the grid-iron-planning model that reflects the vision of
partments of the university. The architect achieved by that to the elevations, thereby established its architectural char- Doxiadis’ in all his work. The master plan was divided into 5
street, a unique formative treatment and a clear separation acter. Likewise, the vault-like, double volume aisles, original- main districts, with natural or artificial boundaries such as
between the educational section devoted to classrooms and ly chosen for the provision of air flow and the enhancement rivers, main streets and highways. Each district, which can
laboratories, and other supporting buildings such as the li- of environmental conditions, became simultaneously a accommodate up to 500,000 inhabitants divided into 10
brary, the administrative building, the student center, the prominent aesthetic feature in his designs. Thus, the identi- housing units, each for 50,000 inhabitants with independ-
auditorium, and recreation facilities. ty and aesthetic function has been kept up throughout (Fig. ent centers to provide social services and infrastructure. The
This aspect allowed the architect to give each building 1B-k). Doxiadis’ Master Plan proposed the construction of 3 canals
type its own design language and expression, without for- Another example of elevations treatment, is the provi- to be constructed parallel to Tigress River to create better
getting the specific architectural character imposed by the sion of the brick screens in Qahtan Awni's (Al-Mustansiri- climatic conditions for the remote parts of the city. One of
idea of a single complex. The separated buildings were still yah University), with the marvelous geometric patterns that the canals was implemented in sixties and called now Army
connected with each other, and linked to the main street. took into account the dimensions of the bricks used (Fig. Canal.
This treatment of segregation while avoiding fragmentation, 1B-l). Doxiadis Master Plan suggested the creation of large pe-
emphasized the dialectic “functional” aspect of internation- ripheral districts, such as New-Baghdad, Madinat Al-Thawra
al campus design (Fig. 1B-j). 5.4. Urban Planning of Suburbs of Iraqi Cities, and Urban (Sader City), Al-Maamoon, Zayuna and Western Baghdad
Design of the Sectors. Housing Project (Fig. 2a).
5.3. Modern Environmental Treatments in Elevations. The first and main observed influence in urban design in Rectilinear logic of grid-iron planning model with cul-
As said above the Iraqi modern architects were influ- the 1950’s in Iraq is the new grid- iron-planning (which came de-sac, or loop type streets that reflected the modernization
enced by “functional” approach to solve their vast design in contradiction to the traditional fabric). This grid-iron city theory. These projects incorporated local tradition of people
problems. Contrary to the prevailing, one-sided meaning of planning was spreading all over the world in the middle of in planning the communities.
this term, their interpretation of “functional” was two-fold, the 20th Century. In Iraq, few suburbs were planned by the Doxiadis had submitted the Master Plan in 1959; since
namely to establish first the requirements derived from lo- British in the 1920s and ʼ30s in garden city planning. The gov- then, the Master Plan has been the basis for much of the
ROLE OF GLOBAL MODERNITY ON REGIONAL IRAQI MODERN ARCHITECTURE - Ghada Al-Slik and Inaam Al-Bazzaz 109
 a b
Fig. 2. Influences of Global Modernity on Iraqi Urban Planning
a- Master Plan of Baghdad, Doxiadis 1958, city of mirage catalogue © b Southwest Baghdad Housing by Doxiadis, city of mirage catalogue © c. Al Sadr (Althaw-
ra) city by Doxiadi pictures from Comprehensive plan of Baghdad 1973 ©
subsequent speculative development by all pursuing organ-
izations, (Fig. 2b).
In the Western Baghdad Housing Project District 10,
Baghdad, Iraq, a Low- income housing project which consists
of 1,154 single-family housing units, the site was divided into
blocks, each with two rows of square or rectangular plots,
with car access divided to 3 perpendicular sub cual-de-sac
access, and linear parallel pedestrian network. The Compre-
hensive Development Plan, which was submitted in 1973.
This Plan was based on same principles initiated by Doxiadis.
6. FINAL WORD
The Iraqi architects who started the approach of what is
called contemporary Iraqi architecture in the ʼ60s and ʼ70s,
were followed by the second generation and third genera-
tion, in a continuous attempt to follow the up-to-date
thoughts of architecture, yet not to lose the local and na-
tional identity. In the 80s the approach went more into sym-
bolism, and younger architects were more influenced by
new movements, which led gradually to weakening the ap-
proach which the pioneers have started which itself. But
modern functionalism and expressive abstraction is still the
prevailing way of architectural design in Iraq in spite of dif-
ferent thoughts and the hard situations which the country
has gone through.
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ROLE OF GLOBAL MODERNITY ON REGIONAL IRAQI MODERN ARCHITECTURE - Ghada Al-Slik and Inaam Al-Bazzaz 111