But the Basra Province is a transformed place. Its 3 million residents are rebuilding and even pushing for autonomy. Make that 3 million oil-wealthy residents. It makes sense that Basra, a metropolitan city before its suppression under Saddam Hussein, would emerge as the new economic capital of Iraq. (Of course, it’s hard to believe how fast fate can transform a city, considering what has happened in Raqqa, Syria.)
What’s hardest to explain is the building itself. The “Bride” might refer to the veil-like structure that appears to flow from the curtain-wall of the 3,780-foot-tall building into a canopy that covers the base at the podium level and extends seemingly several city blocks from there. How this nearly 17 million-square-foot building will work as a net-zero site, fueled by solar energy, is anybody’s guess. If it operates even close to that efficiently—and it’s not out of the question—it would be a pinnacle of sustainability, at least in terms of energy consumption.