Cultural city in Sulaymaniyah

Option One. The plan develops the concept of a strong axis generated by historical and cultural references and develops an urban and ecological strategy along this route. Two main green arms embrace the New City of Culture. These act as breathing lungs for life, work, research and recreation. The cultural facilities are set around three open spaces and a large water body that enhances the ecology of the place. Like large reading rooms along a library corridor, these rooms are all different according to the subjects and content of the activities and the buildings. In experimenting this city the visitor will always be surrounded by nature and will be surrounded by buildings that not only will promote but inspire all cultural aspects. The masterplan is the representation of theoretical urban concepts that guided us through the planning process to define the Culture City. In order to achieve a complete city, rich in social and economical contents, efficient and sustainable in all its aspects we need an excellent infrastructure and an a credible program for its construction. The masterplan aim is to develop the tools that will help the Municipality and the citizens of Sulimania to achieve these objectives. Option Two. We wanted to try the layout that has been proposed by the Regional Government and the Municipality, developing a possible second option based on the initial proposed plan. The idea is to develop the culture city on the sides of the North-South axis that opens up into a symbolic open space at the end. Green spaces and parks for recreation and sports are the transition to the greener ecological area characterized by the river system further to the south. We presumed that the residential area develops mainly on the west side and on the south East side of the plan, while the artisan village and the more commercial sites would be closer to the existing city on the north.