Ceremonial Parade Ground

Tikrit, Iraq

In 1984, Makiya Associates began work on a design for a ceremonial parade ground in Tikrit, a small city on the Tigris in Salah al-Din Governorate and the hometown of Saddam Hussein. The contract, which was awarded after a competition, came in the wake of the firm's involvement with the Baghdad State Mosque design, another important national symbol commissioned by Hussein's government.

The proposed site for the parade ground was just outside the town at the edge of the expansive steppe landscape of Central Iraq. In addition to a straight parade route across the center of the square site, a helicopter landing pad, and viewing platforms, the ambitious design included sporting and cultural facilities, as well as parks, so that the site could accommodate an array of activities aside from military reviews.

The Tikrit parade ground plan also incorporated quintessential elements of Makiya's style, including riwaqs (arcades), decorative brickwork, and palm groves: all forms drawing from the Islamic and pre-Islamic architecture of Mesopotamia. This project was never built, having been set aside by the government in 1986.

Sources:

Karen Dabrowska, Mohamed Makiya: A Modern Architect Renewing Islamic Tradition, 142-43. London: Saqi Books, 2021.