A celebrated figured of modern Iraqi architecture, Rifat Chadirji’s buildings are exemplary of local construction techniques applied through a modernist lens, a style he called ‘international regionalism’. Chadirji devised a synthesis of form that referenced tradition, but one that hoped to modernise its architectural language by drawing from international styles, while guiding the creation of a genuinely modern urban landscape for Iraq in the latter part of the 20th century.
“I set out to learn from traditional architecture, he once said, “and to achieve a synthesis between traditional forms and inevitable advent of modern technology. My aim was to create an architecture which at once acknowledges the place in which it is built, yet which sacrifices nothing to modern technical capability.”
This story is from the June 2020 edition of Identity.
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This story is from the June 2020 edition of Identity.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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