Rafidain Bank in Mansour

Notes

The building's sober design is conceived as a series of parallel walls, of equal heights, that gradually recede in their positions and depth. These brick walls form the supporting structure of the building while organizing the spaces within it. The walls stretch across the plan and extend to the exterior to be showcased and understood as elements that pierce through the building. 

These walls create in between them bays of different widths but are not continuous throughout the interior as to allow variations of interior spaces as per functional requirements. 

Closing off the bays, panels show on the facade between the structural walls. The lower parts of these panels are white and each shaped with a semi-circular arch. Within this lower part, narrow fenestration is featured in a semi-circular arched shape echoing the panel's. The upper part of the panels is of fair-faced concrete that extends vertically as an envelope for the upper floors and also the parapet on the roof.

Sources

Chadirji, Rifaat, Al-Ukhaider and the Crystal Palace, London: Riad El-Rayyes Books Ltd, 1991, pp. 409-412

Chadirji Foundation for Architecture and Society

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