Central bank of Iraq tower | |
Native Name: | برج البنك المركزي العراقي |
Address: | Al-Jadiriya, Baghdad |
Location City: | Baghdad |
Location Country: | Iraq |
Coordinates: | 33.289°N 44.3845°W |
Status: | Under Construction |
Start Date: | 2018 |
Est Completion: | 2024 |
Architect: | Zaha Hadid |
Owner: | Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) |
Cost: | $772,000,000 |
Floor Area: | 935520NaN0 |
Floor Count: | 35 |
Architectural Style: | Deconstructivism, futurist architecture |
Height: | 180m |
Main Contractor: | Daax construction |
Website: | https://cbi.iq/ |
The Central Bank of Iraq Tower (Arabic: برج البنك المركزي العراقي) (Romanized: ar|Burj albank almarkazii al Iraqi), also known as Zaha Hadid tower, is a 37 story[1] tower located on the banks of the Tigris river in the Al-Jadiriya district of Baghdad, Iraq. The tower aims to become Iraq's second tallest building after the E1 tower in Erbil. and Baghdad's tallest building with a height of 180m.[2] The tower is entirely usable space and has no antenna. The tower symbolizes a new era for Baghdad and Iraq as a whole.
The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) had commissioned the Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid in 2010 to design the project,[3] and was presented in 2011, however construction on the project only began in late 2018 and it's scheduled to be completed in 2023.[4] The tower will serve as the new headquarters for the Central Bank of Iraq, Iraq's national bank. It also features a VIP entrance, visitor entrance, main lobby, museums, personnel entrance, energy centre, public area, personnel facility, cash management area, data centre, security centre and landscaping areas.
The powerful structural exoskeleton frames the facade, which is itself composed of alternating patterns of open and closed elements that visually and conceptually mimic the light reflection from waves in the river below, reinforcing the dynamism of the design and serving the practical purpose of providing a variety of areas of light and shade within. Solid and purposeful at its base, the exoskeleton gradually opens and reduces the tower rises skywards, bringing greater lightness and views across the capital, Baghdad. The bank's podium weaves hard and soft landscaping together and anchors the building within its context, gradually adjusting its scale through a series of landscaped terraces and gardens to directly engage with the surrounding neighbourhood and manage access to the bank. The vertical layers of the tower's exoskeleton are transformed into the horizontal podium and subtly re-emerge within the landscape.[5]