Rifat Chadirji

Rifat Chadirji was born into an eminent Baghdad family; his father Kamil al-Chadirchi was head of the National Democratic Party. Educated at the Hammersmith School of Arts and Crafts in London, Rifat returned to Iraq in 1952, founding the influential Iraq Consult architectural practice.

Chadirji formulated the architectural theory of 'International Regionalism', harmonizing brutalist and modernist concrete structures with traditional Islamic geometric arches, mashrabiyas, and mud-brick textures. His iconic works include the Monument to the Unknown Soldier (1959), the Central Post Office, and the Federation of Industries building. He also took over one hundred thousand documentary photographs of traditional Iraqi life.