Cinema Baghdad (Qadri Ardhroumli)

Notes

According to Khaled Al-Sultany, the architect designed this building in just one day. He also states that the architect was self-labeled as an expressionist and that he designed the building following this philosophy. Madhloom used a “playful” strategy for composing the façade: large solid planes characteristically stand out, openings are only present where necessary and with the minimum functional dimensions, and a small entrance door is set within monumental solid walls. To create points of architectural interest in these walls, the architect divides them in an accordion array while changing the materials on certain edges. Madhat Ali Madhloom repeats this design strategy throughout the project but deploying different methods and variations, such as using convex curved walls, chamfered concaved volumes, etc. In terms of materiality, sandstone elements, of diverse sizes and colors, are used to clad the facades. Variations and transitions in the material cladding and the formal articulations are intended to express the functions and programs behind the building shell, while simultaneously animating the composition.

Sources

Khaled al-Sultany, Study on Representations of Architectural modernity in Iraq, Amman: Adib Books, 2021, p. 166-169.

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