Le Corbusier's design for the Olympic Stadium in Baghdad

9.10.2008-29.03.2009 – Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, London

Publisher
Rasto Udzan
11.01.2009 00:40
Le Corbusier
Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente

As a reminder of last year's Summer Olympic Games held on the Asian continent, an exhibition is currently taking place at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The V&A showcases an unrealized project by Le Corbusier for the Olympic Games in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1960. Corbu, along with his assistant Jullian de la Fuente, worked on the project for a full 8 years until his death.
     The project featured two separate variants of the Olympic complex. The southern part along the Tigris River had a more economical budget, while the northern part of the city offered a more advantageous variant. Both alternatives, located next to the main stadium with a capacity of 50,000 spectators, included a covered gymnastics hall, an outdoor swimming pool, restaurants, an administrative block, and a key characteristic feature in the form of palm-lined avenues. The project was part of a revitalization period that Iraq was undergoing under the rule of King Faisal II, the ruler of the Iraqi nation since he was four years old. In a favorable political climate, it was possible to realize architecture of international standard. Walter Gropius (Baghdad University), Gio Ponti (Ministry of Industry), and Josep Lluis Sert (American Embassy building) contributed to the design. The further development process of Iraq was suddenly interrupted in 1958 when King Faisal II was assassinated. The projects of Alvar Aalto and Frank Lloyd Wright remained just on paper.
     The exhibition at the V&A was organized with the support of RIBA and the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal, which commemorates the recently deceased assistant of Corbu, Jullian de la Fuente (1931–22.3.2008), who was responsible for the Baghdad project.
     The exhibition highlights the uniqueness and inspiration of the work of great masters, whose works, like in the case of Le Corbusier's recently completed church in Firminy-Vert, France, remain relevant even after more than 40 years.

> www.vam.ac.uk/collections/architecture/corbusier_baghdad/
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