Lecture by Prof. Ghada Musa Rzouki Al Slik In the Center of Architecture AIA, New York chapter
Dr. Ghada Musa Rzouki Al Slick , professor of theory , philosophy and preservation of architecture in the Department of Architecture , in the college of Engineering , University of Baghdad was invited to give a lecture and presentation on the architecture of Baghdad , in the Center of Architecture ,New York chapter , AIA , participating in their cultural activities which went on during hosting the exhibition on Baghdad architecture (City of Mirages , Baghdad from Wright to Venturi 1952-1982 ) .On May 1st Dr. Ghada Al Slik gave a lecture entitled ( Baghdad , Then and Now ) in which she gave a brief history of the City , its culture and architecture through the ages since Mesopotamian times , till now , concentrating on 20th century architecture and the showing in 230 pictures sequence of architectural styles all through its periods and , and the socio-cultural backgrounds of art and architecture in the city and all over Iraq, beside presenting some of the new urban and architectural projects taking place in the city and the future urban vision of the city .
Audience were surprised and impressed by the presentation , as the cultural and architectural image of Baghdad has not been clear because of the war , violence image which dominated the media for many years .
In the same event Dr, Jinan Abdul Wahab previous faculty member of the department of architecture presented some architectural works of Husham Munir , the Iraqi pioneer architect who was also invited to attend the evening and contribute in a dialogue on Baghdad architecture and his projects .
On May 4th the architect Denise Scott- Brown , who is the wife and professional partner of Robert Venturi presented their project for the state mosque competition in the 80s and other projects , Dr, Ghada al Slik was asked to comment on the presentation , so she gave a brief on what happened to those projects and the later projects during later times till now , the comments were highly appreciated and given attention , stressing on the importance of having cultural and architectural dialogue between the two sides .
The exhibition of Baghdad architecture is a cultural and academic activity which was held by the college of architects of Barcelona , the municipality of Barcelona and the Arab House in Madrid in 2008 , the department of architecture in our college contributed to it , the students of the department made a large model for the city of Baghdad which was shipped to the exhibition , the exhibition was opened for the first time in July 2008 by her highness princess Christina of Spain, then it was hosted in Madrid in October 2008 , and some other Spanish cities , till it was hosted by the center of architecture in NYC from February 2012 till may 2012 . negotiations are going on the have it hosted in the city of Boston By the Boston architecture society later in 2012 , and may be some other American cities .
The contribution of the department of architecture and of Dr Ghada Alslik is of two folds:First , clarifying the true image of Baghdad , its history , culture and architecture , and the urban and architectural development in the 20th century , with its aesthetic styles , beside clarifying the unique traditional Baghdadi architecture and its heritage. The second advantage is the good presence among other universal advanced academic and professional institutes , giving a true image of the scientific and cultural standards of the department of architecture , College of Engineering , University of Baghdad .
The event of the NY exhibition was a good opportunity to start negotiations for collaboration with American academic and professional sides in the fields of postgraduate studies , exchange of professors , and contribution in exhibitions and workshops .
