Image: Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian, Lisbon
The Gulbenkian Foundation has published a new chronology documenting its support for architectural projects in Iraq between 1956 and 1975. The survey covers schools, hospitals, museums and auditoriums that became part of the landscapes of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities.
The chronology records support for the construction, renovation and outfitting of public and private buildings and collective facilities in education, science, health and social action, sport, and culture.
Most of the financial support was provided by 1972, when the government of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party nationalized the Iraq Petroleum Company, in which the Foundation held a 5 percent stake through Partex. From an early stage, the Foundation’s board sought to ensure that its presence in Iraq was not limited to petroleum interests.
The group of architecturally expressed initiatives is described as a significant contribution to Iraq’s infrastructure-building during the country’s transition from a monarchical to a republican regime.
