Why Nothing’s Wright In Baghdad

Why were Frank Lloyd Wright’s plans for Baghdad not accepted in the 1950s when he drew them up for the King of Iraq? “Wright’s plans were deemed ‘rather grandiose’ by the revolutionary government and were not built. The simpler and cheaper university plan conceived by Gropius was built, as was Gio Ponti’s design for a Ministry of Development building. In 1981, a portion of Le Corbusier’s design for a sports complex was completed. The building was dedicated as Saddam Hussein Gymnasium.”