The future site of Iraq’s parliament resembles a post-apocalyptic movie set. Situated in western Baghdad on a plot of land the size of over 20 soccer fields, dozens of reinforced concrete columns arranged in a hexagonal shape shoot 50 meters into the sky, supporting nothing but air. Saddam Hussein held four international competitions over two decades to build the Middle East’s largest mosque and these columns are all that remain; construction on the mosque stopped after the 2003 US invasion. ...

The future site of Iraq's parliament where the reinforced concrete columns of a mosque commissioned by Saddam Hussein remain. Hussein intended the mosque to be the largest in the Middle East.
The future site of Iraq's parliament where the reinforced concrete columns of a mosque commissioned by Saddam Hussein remain. Hussein intended the mosque to be the largest in the Middle East. © al-akhbar

The Architect's Journal reports that Zaha Hadid will be the architect of Iraq's future parliament building, confirming rumors that have swirled for months. The supremely expensive building is the London-based architect's third planned project in the country where she was born.

Hadid, you might remember, came in third in a 2012 design competition for the project— so how did she end up clinching a commission that she wasn't actually chosen for? That's not entirely clear—but it turns out that the competition's rules included a loophole that would allow the client to choose whichever design they wanted, regardless of the official results.  "We are disappointed, but have moved on to other things," the architects  of the winning proposal told Architect's Journal. In an op-ed published today, The Independent describes the choice as "an architectural puzzle."

While the design details aren't all out in the open yet, we do know a few things about the project—including the fact that the massive west Baghdad site of the future parliament is a storied one. 31 years ago, it was host to an international design competition launched by Saddam Hussein to build a state mosque, which would have become the largest in the world. But, by the time war began in 2003, the only sign of progress on the 600,000 square foot site were dozens of huge columns, with rebar sprouting from them like grass over 150 feet tall.

The so-called "super mosque" had become a symbol of Hussein's diminishing power—an unfinished behemoth that the country couldn't afford and that construction crews couldn't finish. "Part of the idea is apparently to show that despite the embargo introduced in 1990, Iraq can still carry out great projects," explained a 1995 Independent article entitled Starving Iraq plans biggest mosque.

It's hard not to see the similarities between the design competitions of yesteryear and today—at least in terms of scale and cost. That $1 billion price tag on Hadid's design, after all, represents .5 percent of Iraq's 2012 GDP.

The Iraqi parliament and the Ministry of Housing and Construction have issued only general directives for the design. Foremost, the complex should “reflect the power of the elected legislative body on behalf of the people,” reads the document ...
The Iraqi parliament and the Ministry of Housing and Construction have issued only general directives for the design. Foremost, the complex should “reflect the power of the elected legislative body on behalf of the people,” reads the document ... - The complete short list of firms in the running has been “closely guarded,” according to Building Design Online, which published the identities of a few firms in January 2011. Architects will submit their designs for the parliamentary complex, which is set to include gardens and residences, by June 2012.Alaa Maan, the Baghdad branch manager of Dewan architectural firm, said that the designs will then be judged by a panel of architects and academics. Dewan is considering a design that would evoke “the old Greek tradition that would bring together the people and represent the new Iraq,” according to Maan.Other firms are grappling with how to handle the site’s massive concrete columns. “The competing companies can either start working from the existing infrastructure or they can change it, but they’re not restricted by it,” said Ali al-Rubaiee, a structural engineer for Maktab al-Khan, who is working with the London-based firm Assemblage on the project.The high-profile firm of Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid declined to comment on their vision for the design, but it’s unlikely to stray too far from the “architecture of excess” for which she is best known. Yet Hadid’s inclusion on the short list hints at both the Iraqi government’s expansive vision for the parliament, as well as its deep pockets. A design from a firm like Hadid’s would most likely cost over US$100 million and initial speculations suggest that the Iraqi government is willing to pay top dollar for its headquarters.