The brief given by the Committee for the New Headquarters of the General Secretariat Building of the Council of Ministers called for a building that was symbolic of the new Iraq. Functional and modern, incorporating the principles of sustainable architecture whilst having references to the rich history of the Iraqi nation.
The site was adjacent to the Presidential Palace alongside the river Tigris.
The site planning was determined from a detailed urban analysis of the neighbourhood. By studying the position and axis of the Presidential Palace and the Believers Palace, the two largest and most prominent buildings in the area, along with a study of the urban grain of the city and the adjacent street patterns across the river, there appeared a ‘hot spot’ on the site with the potential of views towards and away from the building. This is where we chose to locate the main body of the building. By locating the building in this position on the site, opportunities were afforded to create a new public space or park which would not only provide a setting for the new building but would also assist in the urban quality of the spaces around the Presidential Palace and the Believers Palace.
To minimise expensive excavation, the building is located on a podium that rises over two floors. The space under the podium accommodates most of the service accommodation, archives and car parking. The space on top of the podium forms a major landscaped public space that connects the city to the river.
By stepping the podium levels and with the use of water and hard landscape, the building is secured and protected without the imposition of forbidding boundary walls. Entrances to the building and below podium levels are limited and via vehicle/pedestrian security ‘air locks’.
The main body of the building derives its form from the urban analysis with the office space wrapping around a central atrium. All the offices will open out onto the central atrium that will provide a magnificent central space uniting all the Directorates. Rising over 12 floors the form of the building is intentionally fluid and sculptural with the outer skin of the structure acting as a solar shade to the internal structure. This outer skin is perforated with a traditional Arabic Iraqi pattern allowing light and air to circulate in and around the building whilst also acting as a solar shade to the externals walls.
The sculptural form of the building, its position in a new public space and its location adjacent to the river will ensure that the building will be visible from across the city. The building, its concept and design will be iconic and will help to establish a new high quality urban quarter in the city.
