The Role of Rewriting in Post - war Riverbank Reconstruction: The Case of Mosul

The research aims to investigate the methods for rewriting techniques to reconstruct the riverbank of the Tigris River in Mosul. This procedure can recall a series of features of the previous settlement involved in the design process, such as permanence, traces, absences, etc. This choice depends on the assumption that reviving city riverbank spaces is an essential phase in the post - war reconstruction, especially for cities with strong connections with rivers – such as Mosul – since riverbanks can become new collective and civil spaces for the post - war life of cities. The definition of rewriting takes inspiration from literary world, but in the academic field of architecture implies a proactive attitude of critically reworking formal characteristics belonging to some features of previous configurations. Mosul, the second largest Iraqi city, is selected to be the case for this research owing to its special status: the Mosul city was established on the western riverbank of the Tigris River in the 6th Century, across from the archaeological relics of the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh, which was prosperous during the ancient era. However, it has been severely affected by the civil war between the terrorist organization – the Islamic State – and the Iraqi government from 2014 to 2017. This civil war suffered a substantial economic and development setback and experienced widespread destruction of civil and industrial infrastructure from systematic and extensive sabotage and looting, which represented the loss of those architectures of collective and symbolic importance for the city’s identity. In this situation of loss of collective facilities and identity, investigating and applying rewriting techniques not only can suit the urgent need for post - war regeneration but also enhance the consolidated relationships between diversity and unity, past and present, tradition and contemporary. The research employs the methodologies of literature review, site analysis, case study, and design research to gain a series of practical principles and methods for the rewriting technique. These principles and methods can guide the design work in the reconstruction process, improving the quality of riverbank space with the site logic and spirit. Furthermore, the theoretical outcome of this research has the potential to significantly advance the discipline more broadly.