A new museum designed by Studio Libeskind will honor the Kurdish people, the largest ethnic minority group in Iraq, and their heritage. This week, the plans were unveiled for The Kurdistan Museum, a 150,000-sf facility in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan in northern Iraq.
Located at the base of the ancient Citadel mound, the museum will have permanent and temporary exhibition space, a lecture theater, a community center, and landscaped outdoor areas. It will also have a digital archive of Kurdish historical assets.
“The museum aims to convey the spirit of the Kurdish people, their rich culture and the future of Kurdistan,” architect Daniel Libeskind said in a statement. “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.”
Symbolism is woven into the museum’s layout. The building has four sections that represent each of the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq. They are then split by two angular intersections, which Studio Libeskind says represents the past and future of Kurdistan.
Anfal (left) and Liberty Lines. Anfal rendering: Studio Libeskind. Liberty rendering: Crystal. Click image to enlarge.
The Anfal Line is heavy and dark, which brings to mind the genocide under Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. The Liberty Line is sanguine, with a lattice with greenery and an eternal flame. A courtyard for picnics and performances is situated in between the Anfal and Liberty Lines.
The firm says that the museum is just a plan for now. Not only does the Kurdistan government need to secure funding, but “the Kurds in Iraq are currently engaged in fighting the Islamic State (ISIS),” Studio Libeskind said in a statement. “The construction of the museum will begin once the region is stabilized and the threat posed by ISIS is minimized.”
Dezeen points out that plans for the museum have been in the works since 2010.
 Hayes Davidson.jpg)
Rendering: Hayes Davidson. Click image to enlarge.
 Hayes Davidson.jpg)
Rendering: Hayes Davidson. Click image to enlarge.
Related Stories
| May 22, 2014
No time for a trip to Dubai? Team BlackSheep's drone flyover gives a bird's eye view [video]
Team BlackSheep—devotees of filmmaking with drones—has posted a fun video that takes viewers high over the city for spectacular vistas of a modern architectural showcase.
| May 22, 2014
IKEA to convert original store into company museum
Due to open next year, the museum is expected to attract 200,000 people annually to rural Älmhult, Sweden, home of the first ever IKEA store.
| May 21, 2014
Gehry unveils plan for renovation, expansion of Philadelphia Museum of Art [slideshow]
Gehry's final design reorganizes and expands the building, adding more than 169,000 sf of space, much of it below the iconic structure.
| May 20, 2014
Kinetic Architecture: New book explores innovations in active façades
The book, co-authored by Arup's Russell Fortmeyer, illustrates the various ways architects, consultants, and engineers approach energy and comfort by manipulating air, water, and light through the layers of passive and active building envelope systems.
| May 19, 2014
What can architects learn from nature’s 3.8 billion years of experience?
In a new report, HOK and Biomimicry 3.8 partnered to study how lessons from the temperate broadleaf forest biome, which houses many of the world’s largest population centers, can inform the design of the built environment.
| May 19, 2014
Calatrava wins court case concerning 'Calatrava bleeds you dry' website
A judge has ordered the left-wing political party Esquerra Unida to pay €30,000 to Santiago Calatrava because of "insulting and degrading" website.
| May 15, 2014
First look: 9/11 Memorial Museum opens to first-responders, survivors, 9/11 families [slideshow]
The 110,000-sf museum is filled with monumental artifacts from the tragedy and exhibits that honor the lives of every victim of the 2001 and 1993 attacks.
| May 13, 2014
Steven Holl's sculptural Institute for Contemporary Art set to break ground at VCU
The facility will have two entrances—one facing the city of Richmond, Va., the other toward VCU's campus—to serve as a connection between "town and gown."
| May 13, 2014
19 industry groups team to promote resilient planning and building materials
The industry associations, with more than 700,000 members generating almost $1 trillion in GDP, have issued a joint statement on resilience, pushing design and building solutions for disaster mitigation.
| May 13, 2014
Libeskind wins competition to design Canadian National Holocaust Monument
A design team featuring Daniel Libeskind and Gail Dexter-Lord has won a competition with its design for the Canadian National Holocaust Monument in Toronto. The monument is set to open in the autumn of 2015.
