Anders Olausson, 4 May 2023

The first thing we need to clear up…

– …is where Erbil actually is?

Exactly. And what KRG is.

– It stands for the Kurdistan Regional Government and refers to the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq. It is often said that the Kurds are the largest ethnic group in the world without a nation state of their own. The region known as Kurdistan extends across Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Northern Iraq is where Kurdish autonomy is strongest today, and Erbil is its capital. It also has a strong claim to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

Who are the clients behind KII?

– The initiative comes from Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, and KII stands for Kurdistan Innovation Institute. The economy of both the KRG and Iraq has long been built on oil. New economic foundations are needed. The idea is therefore to establish a science park that can create environments where knowledge generates new industries and opportunities.

How did Wingårdhs become involved in the project?

– Through a series of earlier projects we developed a relationship with the client. For KII we initially produced proposals based on local building traditions, drawing on courtyard typologies and regional brick architecture. The response was essentially that Western architects always propose more of what already exists.

What did you eventually understand that changed their minds?

– That we had underestimated the symbolic dimension of the task. This is a project intended to create the conditions for stable and sustainable growth for a stateless people in a vulnerable region. It cannot be just another collection of buildings. The architecture has to connect with something deeper and point optimistically towards the future.

How do you respond to a brief like that?

– Among the Kurds, the landscape has historically been the most powerful symbol of identity. There is a saying that returns again and again: "No friends but the mountains." We developed a design concept that distilled the characteristic landscape of Kurdistan into architecture: white mountain peaks anchored in rolling green hills, with rivers winding through the valleys below.

Can it be sustainable at the same time?

– Absolutely. The "mountains" are shaped to maximise daylight while minimising solar gain, using façades that capture diffuse sky light without direct sun exposure. The roofs slope towards the south to harvest solar energy and collect water, feeding the rivers below. These landscape features are intended to establish a new benchmark for water management while also becoming an integral part of the public realm. We also propose a range of technical solutions designed to make the development a net producer of clean energy.

And how do the "mountains" function as workplaces?

– More than anything else, a science park should be a reactor for encounters between different fields of knowledge. It needs both dense social spaces for spontaneous interaction and calm environments for focused work. The mountains are conceived as creative volcanoes, where rings of flexible but protected workspaces surround a vibrant central atrium filled with places to meet, exchange and collaborate.