Rifat Chadirji Wiki – Rifat Chadirji Biography
Chadriji died from COVID-19 in London on April 10, 2020, at the age of 93. The Iraqi prime minister-designate Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and the Iraqi President Barham Salih both paid their tribute
Rifat Chadirji Quick Biography
Rifat Chadirji Family Bio
Chadirji was born in Baghdad in 1926 into an influential family. His father, Kamil Chadirji (1897-1968), played a central role in Iraq’s political life as founder and president of the National Democratic Party.
Chadirji trained as an architect. In 1952, after completing his graduate training, he returned to Baghdad and began working on what he called his “architectural experiments.” Rifat Chadirji’s architecture is inspired by the characteristics of regional Iraqi architecture, and the time-tested intelligence inherent in it, but at the same time, he wanted to reconcile tradition with contemporary social needs. In an interview, Chadirji explains his philosophy:
“From the very outset of my practice, I thought it imperative that, sooner or later, Iraq create for itself an architecture regional in character yet simultaneously modern, part of the current international avant-garde style.”
Rifat Chadirji Cause of Death
Chadriji died from COVID-19 in London on April 10, 2020 at the age of 93.The Iraqi prime minister designate Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and the Iraqi president Barham Salih both paid their tributes.
Rifat Chadirji Work
Although Chadirji designed many residences, he is most noted for his public works, including both buildings and monuments. His Monument to the Unknown Soldier (1959), described as a simple, symbolic, modernist structure, was removed from al-Fardous Square to make way for a statue of Sadam Hussein in the early 1980s. The replacement statue was infamously toppled on 9 April, 2003 in full view of the world, as global media filmed and photographed the destruction.
