Between Identity and Memory.. Architecture Students Read the Vocabulary of Iraqi Heritage at Al-Mustansiriya University via a Field Visit

The Department of Architecture at the University of Samarra organized a field visit for second-stage students, both morning and evening studies, to Al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdad, as part of the practical requirements for the Architectural Design course.
The students were accompanied by a distinguished group of faculty members, including: Dr. Suhail Najm Abdullah, Lecturer Raouf Abdul-Razzaq Nuri, Assistant Lecturer Mustafa Saadi Abdul-Mohsen, Assistant Lecturer Rawaa Fadel Hamdi, and Engineer Istabraq Moayad Najm; in a step aimed at enhancing the cognitive link between theoretical curricula and live observation.
The visit featured intensive training on direct architectural observation, as the organizers focused on enabling students to read educational spaces and analyze the complex intersections between function, movement, mass, and the courtyard, while highlighting how buildings are transformed into carriers of identity and urban memory.
Furthermore, the activity served to develop the students’ abilities to invest in the vocabulary of Iraqi heritage and employ it in contemporary projects, with an analytical vision that goes beyond formal imitation to grasping deep spatial and symbolic relationships.
The scientific tour concluded by achieving its goals as a cognitive bridge that gave students a unique opportunity to view architecture as a living civilizational record, contributing to the enrichment of their design projects and giving them academic and cultural depth that keeps pace with modern architectural development while maintaining historical authenticity.