Babylon gate of 21 century

Ishik University

Project idea

Babylon is one of the most ancient cities in the world, it dates back to 3500 years ago, and it’s a place of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world
It has been neglected by the people and government for a long time and due to the political situation of Iraq, it has been used as a military camp by the USA which led to much damage to the buildings.
Babylon gate of the 21-century project tends to protect the city, add services and add some activity to bring back tourists to the city for people’s awareness about historical places and its economic benefits.

Project description

The project starts with a gate that represents the modern (21 century), the gate leads visitors to the visitor centre and from there the scattered museum will start which is maximality 200m long and it represents (Hammurabi) city which is underground now and the museum gives the feeling of an underground and basements. the museum has an opening from the roof for natural lighting and ventilation, it also has many wind catcher that takes the wind the underground when ground-level water exists and the cold air goes back to the museum.
the museum starts with a few numbers historical pieces and it gets denser the more you walk through the museum with a musical rhythm until you reach the (Nebuchadnezzar) museum which is at the higher level of the scattered museum to give the feeling of the city which is now it’s above Hammurabi city.
From the point of intersection of the (Nebuchadnezzar) museum and the original entrance of the city, a pathway appears that leads the visitors out of the museum to the old city.
The pathway shows the direction to the visitors it also protects the stones of the ground from getting damaged and it has some shading area and seating area at some point due to the length of the journey and the hot clime of the city.
the city has been divided into two parts 1- the palaces and 2- the ruins, the pathway leads the visitors to the end of the palaces, and then a pedestrian bridge continues to lead the visitors and take them through the ruins, and this is because it is forbidden to enter the ruin so that the visitors can see the ruins without entering the area, same as the pathway the bridge also has some seating and shading area, and it has been made of wood due to the heat.
the bridge takes the visitor back to the museum, and then they continue to see the rest of the museum, and this makes the old city part of the tour of the museum and connects them.
after the museum visitors go out and turn back to the gate but it’s not the same path, the path back to the gate consists of several gardens with many different levels that represent the hanging gardens of Babylon, it also consists of open and closed exhibitions, shops, restaurants, theatre, and plaza.
visitors have free will to choose to walk inside the building or take the roof garden as to way back to the gate.

Technical information

design of the project has followed the UNESCO regulations for the site which are (project should serve tourists, one floor, more open area, no brick on the building facade, no basement, max floor hight=6…….)

Documentation

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