Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Rifat Chadirji: Modernist Baghdad and What Survives
In 1960, King Faisal II invited Le Corbusier to contribute to Baghdad's Olympic bid by designing the Baghdad Gymnasium, recognized for its distinctive curvilinear roof. The Iraqi Development Board, backed by the Iraq Petroleum Company, drew prominent architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Walter Gropius. Faisal II envisioned a capital reminiscent of the West to set Iraq apart from Arab nations aligned with the Soviet Union. By 1959, Gropius's firm had completed plans for 273 structures at Baghdad University. Although the gymnasium was finished in 1980, 23 years after construction commenced, Saddam Hussein renamed the facility, and Le Corbusier's stadium was never realized. Rifat Chadirji designed various monuments before being imprisoned in 1978, later released by Saddam to enhance Baghdad's aesthetics, ultimately fleeing in 1983.
Key facts
- Le Corbusier was invited to Baghdad by King Faisal II as the city prepared a bid for the 1960 Olympic Games
- The Iraqi Development Board used revenue from the British-controlled Iraq Petroleum Company to bring Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Aalto, Gio Ponti and Josep Lluís Sert to Iraq
- Le Corbusier's Baghdad Gymnasium was completed in 1980, 23 years after the project began and 15 years after his death
- Saddam Hussein renamed the Le Corbusier Gymnasium complex after himself
- Walter Gropius's firm The Architects Collaborative designed a Baghdad University campus of 273 buildings on 200 hectares
- Gropius's 20-storey Faculty Office Tower and 25-metre Open Mind arch were added at Abdul Karim Kassem's request
- Francisco Keil do Amaral's 35,700-seat Al Sha'ab stadium was built in 1966 because Le Corbusier's planned stadium was never realised
- Rifat Chadirji was imprisoned at Abu Ghraib in 1978 and fled Iraq in 1983 after 20 months in prison
Entities
Artists
- Le Corbusier
- Walter Gropius
- Frank Lloyd Wright
- Alvar Aalto
- Gio Ponti
- Josep Lluís Sert
- Pedro Azara Nicolás
- Nizar Jawdat
- Ali Jawdat al-Ayyubi
- Ellen Jawdat
- Ali Shakir
- Rifat Chadirji
- Francisco Keil do Amaral
- Robert Venturi
- Richard England
- King Faisal II
- King Faisal I
- Saddam Hussein
- Abdul Karim Kassem
- Ahmed Hassan Al-Bakr
- Gamal Abdel Nasser
- Adolf Hitler
- Mahmoud Othman
Institutions
- Iraqi Development Board
- Iraq Petroleum Company
- The Architects Collaborative
- Harvard University
- Bauhaus
- Iraq Consult
- Hammersmith School of Arts and Crafts
- University of Baghdad
- Revolutionary Council
- Ba'ath Party
- Monocle
Locations
- Baghdad
- Iraq
- Basra
- Mosul
- Barcelona
- Spain
- Madrid
- Boston
- United States
- London
- United Kingdom
- Japan
- Egypt
- Bahrain
- Malta
- Saint-Étienne
- France
- Abu Ghraib
- Tigris
- Hazem Namiq Al-Khilani Square
- Al-Khilani Square
- Tahrir Square
- Arch of Ctesiphon
Sources
- Monocle —