Architectural Record 2015-04

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ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2015
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Ihsan Fethi
BY WILLIAM HANLEY
in a video that provoked outrage as it made
its way across the Internet in February, men
in military clothing ransacked Iraq’s Mosul
Museum, toppling statues of ancient rulers from
their pedestals before pounding the figures—
some replicas but others original—with sledgehammers.
Last month, reports came that three
historic sites in northern Iraq had been bulldozed:
the colonnades and archways of Hatra,
The ancient city of Hatra (left) is among the sites reportedly damaged by
ISIS. Architect Ihsan Fethi (right) fears more destruction.
which had held off attacks by the Romans,
and the ruins of Nimrud and Dur-Sharrukin—
both capitals of the Assyrian empire nearly
3,000 years ago. At press time, the full extent
of the damage is still unknown.
As the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq
and Syria (ISIS) has occupied a large swath of
territory in the Middle East, the group has
horrified the world with images of murder
and brutality as well as an expanding and
systematic campaign of cultural destruction.
ISIS fighters have targeted mosques, shrines,
churches, museums, and other sites for obliteration,
damning them as idolatrous under
their strident Islamist rhetoric and striking
irrevocable blows against humanity’s collective
cultural patrimony.
Architect and historic conservation
specialist Ihsan Fethi has chronicled the loss
of historic art and architecture in his native
Iraq for decades and is closely monitoring
the current situation. Director of the Iraqi
Architects Society, he has consulted with
international organizations on the region’s
heritage sites and called on the United Nations
to classify their willful destruction as a crime
against humanity. Fethi, who teaches at
Philadelphia University in Amman, Jordan,
spoke with record about the unprecedented
speed and extent of the damage by ISIS and
what might be done to protect significant
historical objects in the future.
Iraq has lost a heartbreaking amount of
historic architecture in recent decades. What
distinguishes the ISIS campaign?
The amount of destruction they have managed
to do in the last year is amazing. They
have an organized agenda to raze anything
that is contrary to their skewed view of what
Islam thinks of art. It has resulted in the tragic
and irreversible destruction of some of the
most important monuments in northern Iraq.
In Mosul, they destroyed mosques with
shrines that were revered by all of the population.
But they also destroyed pre-Islamic statues
that could hardly be considered
idols. They are museum pieces—
nobody’s worshiping them!
That said, don’t listen to what
they declare—even ISIS is finding
a market for looted items.
How have you been getting
information about historic sites
in ISIS-occupied territory?
I have many former students
who report every now and then
if they can get to a place where
they can send e-mail or use a
mobile phone. But at this point,
many of my students have fled.
I am also in touch with various cultural officials
all over the country.
What can be done now to protect other sites?
Nothing. Nothing can be done. I know it
sounds really infuriating. The only way to
safeguard the remaining sites is to kick ISIS
completely off the map.
But to liberate Mosul could also mean the
absolute destruction of the city and its historic
urban fabric, which dates back 1,000 years.
The only way I can think of to save some of the
architecture is to blockade the city, provide
the ISIS fighters with some kind of escape, and
take the fight elsewhere. Otherwise, we will
have a major disaster.
We have lost a lot, but I think there are
lessons to be learned from this situation.
What should we take away?
We should think seriously about emergency
measures that national governments can take
if they feel there is an imminent danger of
this kind of destruction. At a UNESCO meeting
in Bahrain last month, I suggested the institution
of a World Heritage Shelter in Paris where,
if a government feels its major museums are
vulnerable, they can quickly transfer objects
to a secure temporary location with conservation
resources until the situation is cleared.
But in Iraq, the destruction has been so shocking.
It’s so sudden. You are at a loss for words. ■
William Hanley is a New York City–based writer.
AIA Selects 2015 Diversity
Program Honorees
The American Institute of Architects has
selected Urban Design Regional Action for
Minorities (UDream) and Sorg Architects as
2015 honorees of its Diversity Recognition
Program. The award recognizes those committed
to inclusion in the design profession.
Foster to Design Main Qatar
World Cup Stadium
Foster + Partners beat David Chipperfield,
Mossessian & Partners, and Mangera Yvars
Architects in a competition to design the
main stadium for the 2022 World Cup in
Qatar. The 80,000-seat Lusail Stadium is one
of several planned for the tournament, including
Zaha Hadid’s Al Wakrah stadium.
Pratt Institute Names Design
School Dean
Pratt Institute appointed Anita Cooney dean
of its School of Design, effective this month.
Cooney, a Pratt alumna with more than 20
years of design experience, had served as the
school’s acting dean since its establishment
last July.
Chipperfield to Redesign Met
Museum Wing
David Chipperfield Architects has been
selected to redesign the Metropolitan Museum
of Art’s modern- and contemporary-art wing
in New York. The renovation will allow for
more gallery and storage space and double the
size of the museum’s roof garden.
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F M A M J J A
S O N D J F
2014 2015
INQUIRIES
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62
52 53
60
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BILLINGS
ABI Improves in February
57
50
The Architectural Billings Index (ABI)
increased in February with a score of 50.4,
from 49.9 in January (scores above 50
indicate an increase in billings). The ABI has
been positive for 10 of the past 12 months,
indicating that the design sector is, says the
AIA’s chief economist, “on solid footing.” The
new-projects inquiry index was 56.6.
PHOTOGRAPHY: © NICO TONDINI/GETTY IMAGES (FAR LEFT); IHSAN FETHI (LEFT)
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