He Proposed a New Cultural Center for Baghdad It was a once-in-a-lifetime commission. In the mid-’50s, Iraqi King Faisal II desired a contemporary capital and called upon many of the world’s premier architects to submit proposals for a new Baghdad. Amid sketches and plans from Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, and Oscar Niemeyer, Wright’s massive cultural center proposal stood out for its references to local culture and history (he supposedly loved Arabian Nights). On an island in the middle of the Tigris, a statue of a famous caliph would stand near an opera house crowned with an Aladdin statue. The fantastical plans were shelved after the king was killed and the monarchy collapsed. Photo 3 of 10 in 9 Things You Didn’t Know About Frank Lloyd Wright

9 Things You Didn’t Know About Frank Lloyd Wright

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He Proposed a New Cultural Center for Baghdad

It was a once-in-a-lifetime commission. In the mid-’50s, Iraqi King Faisal II desired a contemporary capital and called upon many of the world’s premier architects to submit proposals for a new Baghdad. Amid sketches and plans from Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, and Oscar Niemeyer, Wright’s massive cultural center proposal stood out for its references to local culture and history (he supposedly loved Arabian Nights). On an island in the middle of the Tigris, a statue of a famous caliph would stand near an opera house crowned with an Aladdin statue. The fantastical plans were shelved after the king was killed and the monarchy collapsed.