Dewan Architects and Engineers to design university campus in historical city of Samarra

Samarra, about 124 km north of Baghdad, is considered as world's largest known ancient city with its majestic ruins. The city was built by Caliph Al-Mu'tasim in 836 AD to replace Baghdad as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, and abandoned by Caliph Al-Mu'tamid in 892 AD.

Despite the short sojourn of the Abbasid Caliphate in Samarra, the city's artistic, literary, and scientific splendors have remained a legend in Arab history.

The decision to participate in the Masterplanning and design of a modern university campus in Samarra, considered to be the largest ancient city known to man, is in line with Dewan's mission to actively participate in the rebuilding of Iraq's ones flourishing education sector and to help return it to its glory days where Iraq once lay claim to having the best universities in the region and the most educated population in the Arab world.

The university, which is envisioned to house around 12,000 students and a large number of acting faculty members, is planned to be implemented in three stages, with the first stage to be built by 2015.

Mohamed Al Assam, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Dewan, commented, "As a key player in the major reconstruction efforts of the educational sector in Iraq, we are very excited to be part of this prestigious project, which envisions an enlightened and knowledge-based society in Iraq."

He added, "This project is significant as Samarra is home to a number of sites of historic and architectural interest. As such, our design will incorporate various elements that correspond with the area's cultural and historical significance while complying with international best practices in education campus planning The university will also be designed to be environmentally friendly and with a strong focus on sustainability."

The campus, which will be planned and developed on a 2,6 square kilometres land, is expected to be a word-class education campus incorporating modern technologies and building practices, and without sacrifciging the deep-rooted Iraqi architectural heritage. The campus will house 18 colleges, including those for Education, Archaeology, Medicine, Dentistry, Engineering and Sciences, Applied Engineering, Business and Economics, Biomedical Engineering, Agriculture, Nursing, International Affairs, Law, Media and Fine Arts, Languages, Sports, Computer Sciences, Islamic Studies, and Applied Sciences.

Other building components will include the university's head office, a conference hall, central library, the various Deans' offices, a scientific/research centre, laboratories, library building, students' accommodation, faculty accommodation, a students' complex, social centres, a cultural complex, as well as restaurants and cafeterias.

Dewan Architects & Engineers has extensive experience in the educational sector and has completed a number reputed and successful projects including K-12 schools for Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), Aldar Academies, in addition to higher-education projects for Zayed University, Higher Colleges of Technology, Kufa University, and George Mason University.

Commented Al Assam, "This project is one of a number of educational developments we have taken on in the GCC region and Iraq and forms part of our regional growth strategy. We have a solid track record in this sector and we are confident that we can deliver an outstanding design that corresponds with the client's vision for the future while honouring the past."

Dewan Architects & Engineers is a regional architectural and engineering design firm with nearly three decades of industry successes across GCC countries, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The firm has offices in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, the Philippines, and India and has received many awards for excellence including being placed on the 'World Architecture Top 100' list by the esteemed UK Building Design Magazine for four consecutive years, Major projects undertaken successfully by Dewan include the Yas Island Viceroy Hotel, The Fairmont Resort and Al Bateen School in Abu Dhabi, Ibn Batutta Shopping Mall and Green Community in Dubai, UAE, and the Baghdad Rotana Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq.