Housing estate in Mosul

In today's world the architect is not only a builder, but becomes a strategist who has to react to emerging problems that affect societies, overpopulation, migration, wars, hunger, decaying ecosystem. The presented project is a possible answers to such a complex architectural problem as designing a housing estate in a postwar, culturally diverse city.

The concept is more about the strategy and solutions rather than a finished design. It considers the situation of designing a housing in postwar city at all the relevant stages, from initial emergency solutions to a full-fledged neighborhood. The idea of the project is to use participation planning that attribute to the settlers the main role in the process of building a housing. The refugees settle by their own, deciding about the location, elements and materials. In the project it works similar to an informal settlement, but leads to more controlled solution. Inhabitants create their own house independent according to the various needs of the different family (size, faith, culture). All the process as an informal settlement has a progressive character and is very flexible. The materials were also very important - the war leftovers, traditional and recycled materials are used in the design. How does it work? The family choses elements represented by a prototypes of traditional Iraqi spaces (talar, tarma, usri and serdab) and set them together over time around the external patio to create the house. Of course, the proper help of the municipality is needed at the beginning. Their main role would be to deliver the networks, building materials and arrange helping centers which later would change its function into necessary services. At first, a help center is created. This is the starting point from which the settlers will receive adequate help. Then the residents arrives. The help center is expanding. In the next stage, the residential structure is growing. There is further densification of the ground floor, pedestrian crossings between the buildings are clarified. Finally the help center is changing its functions into what is needed in the neighborhood. The housing structure extend spontaneously in a sustainable way and remains under constant evolution to provide a better future for the population of the postwar city.