Baghdad Arts Deco : Architectural Brickwork 1920-1950

Reveals the splendours of early twentieth-century architecture still standing in Iraq's capital, despite international sanctions and the ravages of war. Caecilia Pieri's photographs (taken between 2003 and 2006)present Baghdad's architecture in a historic

An homage to the modern architectural landscape of Iraq.

Despite dictatorship, international sanctions, and the ravages of war, Baghdad endures with a surprisingly exceptional modern architectural heritage. This beautifully illustrated study reveals the splendors of early twentieth-century architecture that still stand on the streets of Iraq''s capital.

From 1920 to 1950, in the process of nation-building, Baghdad was transformed into a true city built of brick, one that became the harbinger of the Arab architectural renaissance, its local traditions reinterpreted and adapted into a modern vernacular style. Caecilia Pieri''s documentation foregrounds the physical reality of modern Baghdad, very different from the image that we normally receive from the media. She draws on a number of unpublished sources and documents, to present Baghdad''s architecture in a historical perspective, and her striking photographs taken between 2003 and 2006 document the residential areas of the twentieth-century city, providing an unprecedented resource for historians, urban planners, and general readers interested in discovering a new face of a world capital. With essays by Rifat Chadirji, Ihsan Fethi, and Naïm Kattan.