Events & Activities

The “Made in Iraq” research team took part in the 2025 BRISMES Conference “Destruction, Loss, and Recovery in the Middle East.” The research team organized panel “Destruction, Isolation and Resilience: Urban Situation of Baghdad in the 1990s” on July 1, 2025 with four presentation and short documentary movied “Ruptured city” screening.

Dorota Woroniecka-Krzyżanowska, Presentation Title: Made of Resilience: Postwar Reconstruction in the 1990s Baghdad, Abstract: Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, international coalition led by the United States conducted a large-scale bombing campaign between 17 January and 28 February 1991. While the official goal of the campaign was to force Iraq out of Kuwait and destroy the country’s military arsenal, the bombing caused massive damage to the industry and civilian infrastructure, including in the fields of communication, transportation, water and electricity supply. In April 1991, the Iraqi government launched a country-wide reconstruction campaign. Due to comprehensive economic sanctions imposed on the country, the government had to rely on Iraqi professionals and the locally available materials. The initial three-month-long emergency campaign, and others that followed, succeeded in quick restoration of basic services and reconstruction of main public buildings, telecommunication facilities, roads and bridges. For the Iraqi regime, the successful reconstruction campaign was a means to assert its political control of the country and project an image of defiance to the international community. Yet, it was made possible due to commitment, resilience and ingenuity of Iraqi professionals who worked under pressure for quick results and had to find creative ways to rebuild the country with what was available. For many interviewed Iraqi architects and engineers, the know-how and experience gained in the process was formative for their later careers. With geographical focus on Baghdad, the paper analyzes their memories of the period, focusing on the case studies of Jumhuriya Bridge and Al-Ma’amoun Telecommunication Tower that became some of the main symbols of the reconstruction campaign.

Ghada Al-Slik, Presentation Title: The Power of Unbuilt Architecture in Times of Change: The Case of State Mosque in Baghdad, Abstract: The paper looks at the intersection of state, architecture and representation based on a case study of state mosque in Baghdad. Although never completed, the state mosque in Baghdad received global attention in the early 1980s following an international competition that attracted renowned Iraqi and foreign architects. Despite the carefully crafted proceedings, quality of submissions and international visibility, the competition was discontinued in the second half of the 1980s amidst the Iran-Iraq War. The idea was brought back to life in 1993 under entirely different set of circumstances. A once affluent country aiming at regional leadership, Iraq was now struggling under international sanctions imposed following its invasion of Kuwait in 1990. While the dire economic conditions of the Iraqi population and international isolation did not deter the previous Iraqi regime from pursuing ambitions for architectural grandeur, the institutional setting and political context of the design process changed dramatically. With Iraq cut from the international architectural scene, the design was prepared by Iraqi architects contracted by an institution controlled directly by the regime and driven by its visions and instructions. The construction started in 1999 and continued for the next four years until the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. The skeleton of this massive structure stands till this day, bearing witness to the changes Iraq has gone through. The paper compares the 1980s international stage and the 1990s Iraqi stage of state mosque design reflecting on the changing role of architecture in the service of the state.

Raghad Fadhil, Presentation Title: Choice and Action: Residents’ Role in the Transformation of Modern Residential Neighborhoods in Baghdad (1990- 2024), Abstract: Since the 1990s, the residential neighborhoods in Baghdad witnessed urban and architectural transformations driven by multiple factors related to the choices and actions of their residents. The paper aims to identify and analyze the factors that shaped the urban and architectural transformations of modern residential neighborhoods in Baghdad between 1990 and 2024. It draws on the case study of Zayouna neighborhood, a modern residential neighborhood established in the 1950s according to the urban and architectural design of the Greek company Doxiadis Associates. The 1991 war with Kuwait resulted in unstable political situation and gradual decrease of state control over urban development. On the neighborhood level, it led to a number of urban and architectural actions through which residents changed their houses and surroundings. These included the choice to change the original typical houses in a way that met the needs of growing families faced with dire economic conditions under the sanctions. The paper traces how this choices and actions affected Zayouna focusing on urban situation and house design. Specifically, it offers a comparison between the original design and existing situation on urban level (land use, building densities, open spaces ratio) and architectural level (plan design, façade features, building materials). Through this analysis, the paper explores urban manifestations of bottom-up choices and actions through which the residents strove to meet their housing needs amidst the difficult circumstances of the 1990s’ Baghdad.

Aleksandra Wojtaszek, Presentation Title: Planning in Isolated City: Urban Planners in Baghdad under International Sanctions (1990–2003), Abstract: During the prolonged crisis caused by international sanctions (1990–2003), Baghdad and its urban actors faced immense challenges, striving to adapt and plan for the city’s future despite significant internal and external uncertainties. This paper analyzes the Urban Development Project for Baghdad and the resilience demonstrated by its authors. It was the first master plan prepared entirely by Iraqi experts. Before the 1990s, all planning documents for Baghdad were developed by foreign firms. While existing literature on the sanctions predominantly addresses their macro-level political and economic consequences, this paper emphasizes the often-overlooked urban dimensions and the role of local urban actors. It is based on a mixed-methods approach, including fieldwork in Baghdad, archival research, and in-depth interviews with Iraqi experts who worked as consultants at universities and/or public institutions in the urban planning sector during the sanctions. The study identifies three interrelated factors that shaped Baghdad’s urban planning process: international isolation, economic crisis, and institutional context. By focusing on the urban scale, this study sheds light on urban planning challenges and ways of overcoming them during extended man-made crises, contributing to deeper understanding of resilience.

The Chair of the panel was Marta Woźniak-Bobińska, Associate Professor at the Department of Middle East and North Africa, Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Lódź (Poland). She has degrees in History, International Relations, and Political Studies. Her research interests include religious and ethnic minorities of the Middle East, Christian-Muslim relations, diasporas, identities, gender and globalization, Arabic culture (literature, new media), domestic and foreign policy of Middle Eastern states. She authored two books and more than 70 articles. Since February 2021 she has served as a Researcher in the project Political Dimension of Violence Against Cities: Urbicide in Palestine-A Case Study.

The team conducted the fifth fieldwork in Baghdad between 13 and 27 April 2025. The research activities included visits to institutions (Central Statistical Organization, Hammurabi State Company, Municipality of Sadr City) and specific sites (e.g. unplanned areas in Baghdad), team meetings and in-depth interviews with Iraqi architects, urban planners, and employees of public institutions. On 15 April, the team met with the Polish Ambassador to Iraq, Wojciech Bożek, to discuss the research project and possible cooperation. Last but not least, the team, in cooperation with Andrzej Wyrwiński – Science Outreach, started production of a short documentary film about Baghdad under sanctions.

The team conducted the fourth fieldwork in Baghdad between 28 January and 13 February 2025. The research activities included visits to institutions (Ministry of Planning, Central Statistical Organization, Ministry of Municipalities, Al-Faw State Company, Hammurabi State Company, Iraqi Engineers Union) and specific sites (e.g. unplanned areas in Baghdad), team meetings and in-depth interviews with Iraqi architects, urban planners, and employees of public institutions.

Dr Dorota Woroniecka-Krzyzanowska delivered workshop for faculty members and graduate students of the Department of Architecture, University of Baghdad. The workshop focused on academic writing, with particular emphasis on titles, abstracts, keywords and article’s structure. Dr Woroniecka provided some hands-on advice on how to prepare an academic article and get published in a high-ranking international journal. In the second part of the workshop she introduced the interested students and faculty members to qualitative data analysis using MaxQDA software.

Lecture and workshop for graduate students at the Department of Architecture, University of Baghdad, conducted by Dr Dorota Woroniecka-Krzyżanowska.

During the first day of the workshop, participants were introduced to research and educational systems at Polish universities and guided on publishing scientific research in good-quality international academic journals. The session covered topics such as finding the right journal to publish your research, journal policies, article structure and referencing, and writing a good abstract.

The second day focused on enhancing participants skills in formulating research concepts and translating them into a sound research project. The session discussed the process of developing a research idea – starting from the initial concept, through the formulation of core concepts, and progressing to the research design phase. The workshop included practical assignments and encouraged participants to adopt innovative approaches when engaging with scientific concepts.

Lecture by team member, professor Ghada Al Slik from the University of Baghdad, with reaction from professor Mirosława Czerny, University of Warsaw. The lecture focused on the main urban and architectural changes of contemporary Baghdad and gathered a big audience both on the site and online.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/bbP_eMya9U0

The team conducted second fieldwork in Baghdad between 11 and 30 April 2024, focusing on meetings and archival research at the Mayoralty of Baghdad. Other research activities included in-depth interviews with Iraqi experts who worked in the fields of planning, architecture and construction in the 1990s Baghdad, and progress meetings of the research team.