Red Crescent Orphanage for Girls

Notes

It is located in one of what was the capital’s new, modernly planned suburbs. Its modern design language falls in complementarity with the design of the proximal Saadoun Park Gardens.

The building was originally meant to house fifty orphan girls under the supervision of the women’s section of the Red Cross Iraqi Foundation. It was thus made of two blocks separated at the ground floor. One block was designated for classes, workshops, and exhibition spaces that overlooked the road, while the other block included the library, the administration, a living room, and a dining space. The bedrooms are situated on the first floor, and, at this floor level, the two blocks are merged into one.

There is a clear distinction between the ground floor and the first floor expressed in the design: the use of pilotis and the prevalence of a void on the ground floor is contrasted with the solid horizontal concrete volume on the first floor. The ground floor also features a slightly slanted brick wall breaking the void, while the first floor’s concrete band is continuous, with its horizontality emphasized with the use of ribbon windows. The building opens to a courtyard garden oriented towards the wind direction, to draw cool air under the mass of the building. The control of heat and glare is resolved by several gestures: closing off the eastern and western sides; protecting the large southern windows with concrete shading elements; setting the continuous ribbon window strip to the north, at eye level, with large windows overlooking the gardens only; treating the walls exposed to the low-slanting sun with a white finish; and using white tiles on all roofs. On the ground floor, to the east and west, alternate courses of bricks are projected to cast small shadows and create the effect of a rough dark wall, as the bricks used are the over-burned variety of a dark yellow-green color particular to Baghdad.

However, the building has been modified with form alterations and additions to accommodate new functions.

Sources

Khaled al-Sultany, Study on Representations of Architectural modernity in Iraq, Amman: Adib Books, 2021, p. 170-174.

Architectural Design 3, March 1957, p.96.
 

Information in this database is updated constantly. Do not hesitate to send us comments, information, or illustrations (with appropriate credits) to database@arab-architecture.org