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The Kurdish homeland of Kurdistan lies in an unstable region of the Middle East where one might not expect to find the work of modern international starchitects. While the geo-cultural region that spreads across Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq lacks clearly defined borders, the population is largely of Kurdish descent and is self governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (the KRG). Full independence may be a ways away, but the KRG is embarking on a path to unite the Kurdish population with a major cultural institution in the historic heart of Erbil, Iraq.
Plans were recently unveiled by starchitect Daniel Libeskind for the new Kurdistan Museum, which will be built in collaboration with the KRG and RWF World as the first major cultural centre in the Kurdistan Region celebrating the history and culture of the Kurdish people. The 150,000-square-foot building would be constructed at the base of the ancient Erbil Citadel. The current design offers exhibition spaces as well as a lecture theatre, multimedia educational resources, a digital archive of Kurdish historical assets, and a community centre, while the exterior of the building will support landscaped outdoor spaces for public use.
The museum building will take the form of four interlocking volumes, representing the existing nations that Kurdistan lies within. The structure is also intersected by a line broken into two fragments representing the past and future of Kurdistan. The 'Anfal Line' represents the 1988 genocidal campaign under Saddam Hussein with a heavy, opaque mass, while the 'Liberty Line' uses a lattice structure filled with greenery and an eternal flame to represent the future of Kurdish culture. The two line segments meet at an open-air courtyard in the heart of the museum, with a water feature and landscaping capable of hosting performance spaces, café seating, and picnic grounds.
“The museum aims to convey the spirit of the Kurdish people, their rich culture and the future of Kurdistan,” said architect Daniel Libeskind. “The design had to navigate between two extreme emotions: sadness and tragedy, through the weight of history, and of joy and hope, as the nation looks to the future.”
The KRG's resources are currently dedicated to the ongoing fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), spurring the government to invite outside financial support for the project, which is expected to begin construction only once the region has been stabilized.
We will be sure to return as additional details emerge about the project. In the meantime, you can see more renderings by visiting the project's database entry. Want to get involved in the discussion? Visit the project's Forum thread, or leave a comment at the bottom of the page.
