Rifat Chadirji, father of Iraqi “international regionalism,” dies from COVID-19 at 93

Rifat Chadirji, a world renowned international architect from Iraq, has passed away in London following a positive diagnosis for COVID-19. Chadirji was born in on December 6, 1926 and passed away April 10, 2020.  Throughout a long career, Chadirji helped to develop and propagate a new pan-Arab architectural language that fused traditional architectural forms and building approaches with modern materials, building technologies, and functional uses.  Born into an influential political family in Baghdad while the Iraqi territories were under “British administration,” Chadirji studied architecture at the Hammersmith School of Arts & Crafts in London, graduating in 1952 with a degree in architecture. Upon graduating, Chadirji started the Iraq Consult IQC group, an architectural practice that he used as a launching pad for his inventive “architectural experiments.” Two years later, back in Iraq, he was appointed as the director of the Building Department of the Iraqi Waqf, a body that ove...

Rifat Chadirji, father of Iraqi “international regionalism,” dies from COVID-19 at 93

Rifat Chadirji, a world renowned international architect from Iraq, has passed away in London following a positive diagnosis for COVID-19.

Chadirji was born in on December 6, 1926 and passed away April 10, 2020. 

Throughout a long career, Chadirji helped to develop and propagate a new pan-Arab architectural language that fused traditional architectural forms and building approaches with modern materials, building technologies, and functional uses. 

Born into an influential political family in Baghdad while the Iraqi territories were under “British administration,” Chadirji studied architecture at the Hammersmith School of Arts & Crafts in London, graduating in 1952 with a degree in architecture. Upon graduating, Chadirji started the Iraq Consult IQC group, an architectural practice that he used as a launching pad for his inventive “architectural experiments.” Two years later, back in Iraq, he was appointed as the director of the Building Department of the Iraqi Waqf, a body that ove...