Modern Mudhifs: an Ancient Architectural Tradition in a State of Rapid Change

Abstract The mudhif, an arched hall built of reeds, is one of the world’s oldest recorded building traditions still in use. It appears to have had remarkable stability as an architectural form, reaching back as far as the Bronze Age in the marshes of Iraq. This can be explained by the environmental conditions and by the attributes and limitations of the building material; marsh reeds (phragmites australis) . However, since the introduction of modern air conditioning, and more significantly, the introduction of welded steel frames beginning in 2010, mudhifs have been undergoing a rapid transformation of form, scale, function and meaning. Steel frames have removed the previous limits of shape and size, and increasingly huge mudhifs now form part of a renewed surge in mudhif building across the marsh region and beyond. This paper presents new results from fieldwork undertaken in 2024, which documented the mudhif building process from reed-cutting to completion, and conducted interviews with builders, crafts people and mudhif owners. This work yields important new data on traditional mudhif building, provides a snapshot of how mudhif building is being transformed by new technologies, and gives a glimpse of where the tradition might be heading in the future. The example of the mudhif, as an ancient tradition which constantly reproduces an essentially temporary structure, raises broader heritage questions of authenticity, stability and change in living architectural traditions.