SkyscraperCity Forum banner

NAJAF | Najaf City Council HQ | U/C

10K views 56 replies 19 participants last post by  Hassi 
#1 · (Edited)
Located to the north-east of the Old City of Najaf, the City Council Headquarters will include a five-floor administrative area and a conference hall.

The project is a subtle blend of Islamic and contemporary architectures styles.

With Iraq’s oil revenue set to increase dramatically over the coming years, we can look forward to seeing more high-profile and top-quality developments in both the public and private sectors.







 
See less See more
4
#8 ·
more details...

rchitect: Dewan
Location: Najaf, Iraq

The project

This project is a new city council building for the government of Najaf, an Iraqi city some 160km from Baghdad and one of the holiest cities in Shia Islam. The 30,138 m2 building will consist of five floors of administrative facilities, three floors of conference facilities and a parking basement. As well as this project, Dewan – a UAE-based, Iraqi-founded company – are undertaking the restoration of the old city of Najaf and similar project in Karbala, another holy city for Shia Muslims. The firm is also developing a five star hotel in Baghdad.

The site

The 24,000 m2 site is located in a plot on the main road linking the cities of Najaf and Kufa, near the old site of the governorate building in Najaf, to the north-east of the old city. It is surrounded by governmental and educational buildings.

The concept
The project is inspired by elements of Islamic design, as well as contemporary Iraqi politics, as while the building had to reflect Najaf’s status as the 2012 cultural capital of the Islamic World, it also had to demonstrate a new era in post-Saddam Iraqi society. Architect Mohamed Al Assam said that this duality is why he thinks Dewan won the contract. “The jury understood what we wanted to say. We wanted to promote a new philosophy of design for Iraq after it has been very closed for a long time,” he said.

The Details

The first influence from traditional Arabic design is on the buildings schematics, which are inspired by the Arabic letter which is the beginning of the word Najaf and is significant in the Qur’an. At the heart of the building is the form of the cube which is the strongest and most stable of geometric forms, as well as the two curved wings. While a contemporary building, the designers wanted it to have a modern design.

Al Assam said that the design represented a new philosophy for Iraq in a new age. “The design was an interpretation of modern needs and an interpretation of the new philosophy of the government in Iraq, which is open and transparent,” he said.

Al Assam, who was born in Baghdad and studied architecture in the city, said that the new architecture of Iraq was set to differ markedly with that of the Saddam era which, whether intentional or not, represented a closed society. “In a dictatorship everything is closed, everything is inside, and locked, and that is reflected in the architecture. If you see the buildings that were designed or built in the 80s and 90s they were all very much closed buildings. You can never see from the outside to the inside.”
 
#11 ·
I like the mixture of traditional Arab/Islamic architecture and contemporary architecture. More of such projects should be built.

But as with every new project in Iraq I doubt that it will look as good in reality.
 
#14 ·
So you've known this project has been under construction for like 3 months but you didn't bother updating us? 7iloo. :D

Anyway I hope the building is based on this render.... from what it seems in the video the design might've changed....


ORRRR it could be a whole different project altogether!
 
#28 ·
that building is for the provincal council (not city).

its this building here:



photo by mysterious1

i managed to snap a few photos of it but i never got too close, cops always gave me a creapy look when they saw many taking photos.



 
#18 ·
Chounz said:
So you've known this project has been under construction for like 3 months but you didn't bother updating us? 7iloo. :D

Anyway I hope the building is based on this render.... from what it seems in the video the design might've changed....

ORRRR it could be a whole different project altogether!
You right, it might be different, or it might be the same but they change the design, the companies are also different.
 
#22 ·
Just landed in Najaf yesterday, its very close to my house so i passed it on the way, i asked around, foundation works are done, they started a few months ago.

Theyre going with the render in the first post.

Havent left the house yet, its 10am the next day, but cause of ashura', everythings closed, might just visit the family.

Anyway, ill get some photos, either today or tomorrow.
 
#27 ·


Guys please change the title to U/C.

The design above is 100% under construction (i cant believe i forgot to take photos of this, i literally went past it every single day i was there), i saw them working on it with the render all over the concrete barrier.

Its between Ghadeer and Furat suburb, its a road filled with restaurants, the provincial council headquarters (different to this one) and a small mall.
 
#32 ·


Guys please change the title to U/C.

The design above is 100% under construction (i cant believe i forgot to take photos of this, i literally went past it every single day i was there), i saw them working on it with the render all over the concrete barrier.
That's fucking fantastic.

I didn't think this design would ever see the light of day....... great news bro cheers.
 
#30 ·
no, that is the Provincal Council HQ Building.

this thread is about the Najaf City Council HQ, which is also under construction close to it.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top