Fakhry Shanshal House

Notes

The design of this house shows some brutalist characteristics though displaying the concrete structure of the first floor and using concrete for the simple ornamentation of the balconies.

The distinctive feature in this house, is its open plan layout, unusual and considered avant-gardist in Iraq at the time. The living area is directly open to the dining area; the latter is in turn connected with the kitchen through a hole in the wall through which food could be directly passed and served.

The house is divided into two parts with a central corridor whose walls extend beyond the building’s envelope allowing ambient light to enter and spread into the rooms. Some openings on the first floor overlook the corridor and receive calm soft light, thus, creating a serene setting when windows on the main façade are closed.

As the house sits on a large plot but occupies a small portion of lit, it gets to stand out within its context.
 

Sources

Chadirji, Rifaat, Al-Ukhaider and the Crystal Palace, London: Riad El-Rayyes Books Ltd, 1991, p. 176

Chadirji Foundation for Architecture and Society

 

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