Central Bank of Iraq - Architecture

Architecture

The bank headquarters were designed by Danish architects Dissing+Weitling And completed in 1985. It is a cubical building constructed of reinforced concrete clad in marble. It has few exterior openings, and is instead organised around an inner courtyard which cuts through the heart of the structure and rises to a height of 40m. The courtyard is surrounded on all sides by offices separated by an interior glass curtain wall.

In August 2010, architect Zaha Hadid was appointed to design new headquarters for the Central Bank in Baghdad. Baghdad-born Zaha Hadid, was approached by the Iraqi authorities earlier that year; initial talks about the project were held in Istanbul on August 14, 2010 in the presence of the Central Bank Governor Sinan Al-Shabibi.

On February 2, 2012 Zaha Hadid joined Dr Sinan Al Shabibi at a ceremony in London to sign the agreement between the Central Bank of Iraq and Zaha Hadid Architects for the design stages of the new CBI Headquarters building.

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