Baghdad Gymnasium (Baghdad, Iraq: 1958) History: A preservation movement has grown over this once-obscure Le Corbusier design in Iraq, a commission from King Faisal II, who wanted to rework Baghdad for an unsuccessful bid for the 1960 Summer Olympics. After Faisal was assassinated a few years later, the plans for a sports complex—which at one point included redirecting the Tigris River to feed an outdoor pool—collected dust until a Le Corbusier associate, Georges-Marc Presente, took them up in 1982 and finished the gymnasium, incorporating a curved roof and stark exterior. After Saddam Hussein was overthrown, American soldiers took up residence for a few years, exacerbating the structure’s slow deterioration. Status: Caecilia Pieri, from the Institut Francais du Proche-Orient, rediscovered the site, which was unknown even to some members of the Le Corbusier Foundation, during a research trip in 2005 and helped focus international attention. What You Can Do: Discussions and plans have been proposed to renovate the structure, which is still in use, but nothing concrete has materialized. Pieri has posted a great history of the project. Image Credit: Rifat Chadirji Search “Architecture-in-Baghdad.html” from 8 Endangered Modern Structures

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Baghdad Gymnasium (Baghdad, Iraq: 1958)

History: A preservation movement has grown over this once-obscure Le Corbusier design in Iraq, a commission from King Faisal II, who wanted to rework Baghdad for an unsuccessful bid for the 1960 Summer Olympics. After Faisal was assassinated a few years later, the plans for a sports complex—which at one point included redirecting the Tigris River to feed an outdoor pool—collected dust until a Le Corbusier associate, Georges-Marc Presente, took them up in 1982 and finished the gymnasium, incorporating a curved roof and stark exterior. After Saddam Hussein was overthrown, American soldiers took up residence for a few years, exacerbating the structure’s slow deterioration.

Status: Caecilia Pieri, from the Institut Francais du Proche-Orient, rediscovered the site, which was unknown even to some members of the Le Corbusier Foundation, during a research trip in 2005 and helped focus international attention.

What You Can Do: Discussions and plans have been proposed to renovate the structure, which is still in use, but nothing concrete has materialized. Pieri has posted a great history of the project.

Image Credit: Rifat Chadirji