The project site is located in the Basra Multipurpose Terminal (BMT) within the Umm Qasr Port in Basra, Iraq. Umm Qasr Port is Iraq’s only deep-water port, part of the city of Umm Qasr. Iraq’s second port in scale of size and goods shipped to the port of Basra, it is strategically important, located on the western edge of the al-Faw peninsula, where the mouth of the Shatt al Arab waterway enters the Persian Gulf. The project site is surrounded by large open areas used for Terminal operations and parking. Buildings around the site make a up a low density environment that is horizontal in nature due to 2 to 3 story structures. The project is for an Administrative Office Building for BMT that shall complement the existing Workshop Building. The Workshop Building is a 2 story vaulted steel structure with a double height space at the center and punched openings at the solid periphery walls. The Workshop Building currently houses BMT offices that shall be relocated to the new building. The intention is to maintain a strong connection between the two structures in order for them to work in unison. The design scheme proposes a new Administration Building that is positioned as a two-story linear volume set apart from the existing Workshop Building by a shaded courtyard space. On the two ends of the courtyard space, linear passages on both levels provide direct connection from the new building to the ends of the circulation areas of the existing building. The courtyard space provides light to the existing offices on the North end of the Workshop, creates a welcoming zone of entry and rest for visitors & staff, and allows the two buildings to operate both independently and as an integrated whole. The new office spaces are planned as a linear array of rooms along a single loaded corridor adjacent to the courtyard. While the mass of the existing building provides shade in the courtyard space, the offices of the new building are set back from the courtyard facade to minimize direct sun exposure from the South. Service functions such as the kitchenette, restrooms, archive IT and CCTV rooms are clustered to the West, close to the restrooms and kitchenette of the existing building, so that additional plumbing works can be minimized.

​

Team: Kerim Miskavi, Betül Ay, Türker Özdede, Eda Gürhan, Sena Basgül