Our team’s project (E-ELEVEN) was selected among the best nine projects in the Diwan International Architecture Competition (six honors), after competing with more than 130 offices and architectural groups around the world.

Project location, Basra

Basra is where everything meets, rivers flow in the desert, between golden reed houses in the swamps, and green palm groves, all the way to Shanashil in the city, ending with the sea, fishermen and ports.

In this design proposal, the focus was on this amazing journey to Mesopotamia and trying to inspire from it what would add and give to Basra.

In 2016, the marshes in southern Iraq were classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to their importance and rarity. Reed houses are considered one of the oldest urban structures built in history, as they were built by the ancient Mesopotamians 7,000 years ago. However, today this type of construction is threatened with extinction for many reasons, including the migration of populations to cities and the decline in the number of workforce in this type of establishments.

This information was the main source of inspiration for this design, and it became necessary to preserve this unique heritage and its workers, integrate it with contemporary architecture, and take advantage of its features to enhance Basra’s maritime identity.

Winning students

- Ibrahim Wahid, fifth stage

- Omar Muhammad, fifth stage

-  Maad Ezz El-Din , fourth stage

- Hussein Jawad, third stage

- Muhammad Kazem, third stage