New Territories for Old Architecture - Nomadic History as a Design Strategy in the Redevelopment Urban Project for the Kadhimiya Historical Site, Baghdad, Iraq

Sep 5, 2026

The paper examines how using history can function as a dynamic, intensive force within urban design thinking, moving beyond historicism and representational imagery. It compares two competing redevelopment strategies for the Kadhimiya historical site in Baghdad: the Dewan Architects and Engineers proposal and the Assemblage Architects entry. The analysis applies Deleuze’s Difference and Repetition to evaluate how repeating the past can produce either sociocultural uniformity or cultural difference, framing a “nomadic history.”

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Research focus and theoretical framework (Deleuze)

Redevelopment context of the Kadhimiya site

Location, historical intervention, and redevelopment goals

Comparative analysis of two design proposals

Dewan Architects: conservative historic image

Assemblage Architects: creative alternative

Implications for representational thinking and cultural outcomes

New Territories for Old Architecture: Nomadic History as a Design Strategy in the Redevelopment Urban Project for the Kadhimiya Historical Site, Baghdad, Iraq NAJLAA KAREEM University of Cincinnati The purpose of this paper is to explore how the possibility of using history as a dynamic, intensive force in an urban design thinking process can escape the historicisŵ and reƉresentational iŵage functionarǇ toǁards a reͲengineered creatiǀe historicalͬ architectural dialogue͘ 􀀑Ǉ coŵƉaring tǁo eǆisting urďan project strategies for the redevelopment of the Kadhimiya historical site, this paper will examine the diīerence ďetǁeen ŵiŵicŬing historical stǇles in a deconteǆtualiǌed ŵanner and reƉeating theŵǁith diīerence using the theorǇ of 􀀘iīerence and ReƉetition outlined by the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. This paper analyzes two different design strategies that architectsand urban designers use to deal with history in renewal projects that have been submitted to an international-wide competition for theredevelopment of the Kadhimiya historical site. It will compare the historically conservative winning proposal by the Dewan Architects and Engineers Firm to another entry by the Assemblage Architects Firm. It may be said that the latter firm does not demonstrate as much of a retrospective and conservative use of history as the winning firm, but I will argue that it presents a more creative and prolific source in terms of future design, as well as a less detrimental approach towards the historic urban fabric. It will be shown that the Assemblage Architects’design does not use history in a reactionary or nostalgic way; “history as historicism,” instead Assemblage Firm employs history in creative ways, blending with the present and future. The comparison of these two projects reveals different approaches of architectural reconstruction and preservation. Regarding the first proposal, by the Dewan Architects and Engineers Firm, it is argued that the formality of a “disneyfied” historical character has become “a string of actualities.” Theredevelopmental design in the winning entry exists as an allusion. In contrast, it will be shown that the proposal by Assemblage Architects Firm applies a creative alternative detached from this predetermined method, the use of history in Assemblage’s proposal will be beyond the artificial frozen-time image. In this research, the main goal is not to refute or confirm the static and fixated image of history that is proposed by the winning entry, but rather to scrutinize the way in which this representational image of history becomes operative and dynamic. This research is a critical analysis about a transitional and productive return of history,“a nomadic history.” The term ͚nomadic history’ is coined by the Deleuze scholar Craig Lundy, which is a conception that has been formulated by Deleuze’s logic of creation. This comparative paper will investigate the problem of representational thinking in architectural/ historical design practice and to what extent repeating the past produces sociocultural uniformity, or cultural difference. CAPTURING OLD ARCHITECTURE The Kadhimiya historical site is located in the Kadhimiya district, a northern neighborhood west of the Tigris River, about five kilometers from the city center of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. In the midst of the old site complex sits the mosque of the Kadhimain shrine, which contains tombs and dominates most of the historic urban landscape, greatly influencing “the functional as well as the socio-religious composition.”П In 1980 the site went through an urban intervention that demolished its historic features and urban fabric.Р This resulted in the destruction of 9 hectares of the most motivating architectural elements of the site’s historic core.С “The present problem is to reestablish the integrity of the whole site as an urban complex, providing adequate facilities for servicing, and scope for growth in prosperity.”Т The centra

FAQs

What research question guides the comparison of the two redevelopment proposals?

The research scrutinizes how a representational image of history becomes operational and dynamic in architectural and historical design practice.

How does the paper frame the difference between Dewan Architects and Assemblage Architects?

It argues the Dewan proposal relies on a historically conservative, image-like use of the past, while Assemblage employs history creatively, blending present and future without nostalgic or reactionary historicism.

What theoretical lens does the paper use to interpret “nomadic history”?

It draws on Deleuze’s logic of difference and repetition, along with the concept of “nomadic history” associated with Craig Lundy, to analyze how repeating the past affects cultural difference versus uniformity.

Sep 5, 2026

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