UNESCO announces the winning design of the architectural competition to reconstruct Al-Nuri Mosque compound in Al-Mosul

An international jury announced that the design submitted by eight Egyptian architects has won the international competition to rebuild the historic Al-Nuri Mosque compound in Al-Mosul in Iraq, which is one of the main components of UNESCO’s ambitious project “Reviving the Spirit of Al-Mosul” aimed at rehabilitating the Old City.

The winning project called “Hiwar Al-Arwaqa” was chosen from among 123 designs. It was presented by a team of four partners, headed by Salah El-Din Samir Haridi, with the participation of Khaled Farid Al-Deeb, Sherif Faraj Ibrahim, Tariq Ali Mohamed, and four architectural designers, namely Noha Mansour Rayan, Hajar Abdul-Ghani Gad, Muhammad Saad Jamal and Yusra Muhammad Al-Bahaa.

And the winners are expert architects, who have a great record in heritage rehabilitation, urban planning and climate-friendly architecture. They will prepare a detailed design for the Al-Nuri Mosque compound rebuilding project, which is scheduled for late fall 2021.

The project aims at rebuilding the historic prayer hall in Al-Nuri Mosque, and having harmony between the sections of the compound, which is the largest public place in the Old City of Al-Mosul, and its urban surroundings. This will be by creating public spaces with five entrances linking them to the surrounding streets.

And The prayer hall will restore its shape before the destruction of Al-Nuri Mosque in 2017, but with remarkable improvements, in terms of utilizing natural light and creating large spaces for women and VIPs, which are connected to the main hall through an open, semi-covered space, which can be used as an open place for prayer.

The project also aims at constructing walled gardens that simulate the historic homes and gardens that existed around the prayer hall before it was redesigned in 1944.

The team issued a statement upon winning the competition, welcoming its results, and the statement includes the following: “Our team worked with great passion to present a project that achieves, in the first place, a social cohesion and revives the spirit of the site in all its details. We look forward to completing the design and helping to revive the spirit of the ancient city of Al-Mosul.”.

The winning design will receive a prize of $ 50,000, as well as a contract of preparing the detailed design for the compound. The next ranks candidates will receive cash prizes in appreciation of their work. A prize of 30,000  $will be presented to a team from India, a prize of 20,000  $to a design from Spain, a prize of 15,000 $ to a team from the United States of America, and a prize of 10,000  $to a team of architects from the United Arab Emirates, France, Turkey and Lebanon.

SOURCE: UNESCO