With Iraq teetering on collapse in the face of combined attacks from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and the Kurdish regional government, the federal government of Nouri al-Maliki confirmed that plans for the new $ 1-billion parliamentary complex were going ahead.

Following an opaque call for tender process, the government chose the design submitted by Zaha Hadid, the Iraqi-British icon of deconstructivist architecture who is currently building the Central Bank of Iraq.

The original competition, in 2012, run by the Royal Institute of British Architects at the request of the Iraqi Government was won by the London architect firm Assemblage, which collected its $ 250 000 prize. However, the choice of the Royal Institute was cast aside by the Iraqi Parliament in favor of Zaha Hadid’s design.