Workshop on Construction, Housing, and Community Development Held at AUK

The American University of Kurdistan (AUK) is dedicated to community outreach and uplift of all sorts in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and it is proud to lend its facilities to other organizations sharing that dedication. On June 20, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Construction and Housing cooperated with the Kurdistan Chapter of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) to put on a series of 30-minute seminars on the AUK campus. The larger event to which these seminars belonged was called “Workshop for the Public and Private Construction Sectors with the Goal of Benefiting the Community.” The main liaison between AUK and the outside parties organizing the workshop was Dr. Razaq Ferhadi, Dean of the College of Engineering.

Prior to the four seminars, there were prefatory remarks. This was effectively a bilingual event; host Shivan Mohammed, who would return periodically to welcome each of the speakers to the stage, spoke Kurdish. Dr. Omar Qarani, of the University of Salahaddin, provided a general overview of the workshop. Dr. Randall Rhodes, AUK President, spoke of his ongoing commitment to aligning instruction with industry needs; he cited AUK’s Building Information Modeling Lab and Fabrication Lab (both financed through a United States Department of State Grant titled “Supporting American-Style Higher Education in Iraq”) as evidence. Dr. Agreen Abdullah Aziz, of the Ministry of Construction and Housing, asserted the significance of concrete: “There is no alternative for it.”

Dr. Razaq Ferhadi led the opening seminar, “An Introduction about ACI and ACI Kurdistan Chapter.” He spoke on ACI’s history and revealed himself as an essential part of its Kurdistan Chapter’s, being a founder. Dr. Ferhadi made the fine distinction between “codes” (statutory mandates) and “standards” (optional best practices). Some more uniformity in them is evidently required in Kurdistan, as he has seen Turkish and Chinese codes being followed here.

Dr. Yaman Al-Kamaki, of both the University of Duhok and AUK, delivered the next seminar, “Fiber-Reinforced Polymer [FRP] Composites for Strengthening and as a Rebar Reinforcement.” He posed a number of key engineering questions, such as: “Which building will survive an earthquake, low-rise or high-rise?” He examined the many causes of structural failures, and the most common one (37%) was “Ignorance, Negligence” – highlighting the importance of education and caution. He particularly recommended carbon fibers for their reinforcing potential.

Dr. Abduljalil Sulaiman Ahmed, likewise from the University of Duhok, explained “Faults of Civil Structural Engineers during Construction.” He opened with a statement which would fit just as well in an economics course: “Quality control means the rational use of resources.” He went on to point out the right quality control measures for earthworks, building works, concrete works, and damp-proofing works. His conclusion is a strong contender for the main message of the workshop as a whole: “Quality cannot be controlled 100%; it can only be managed.”

The final seminar was “Use of Engineered Cementitious Composite [ECC] to Repair Roads and Bridges,” by Akre Technical College’s Dr. Radhwan Alzeebaree. He advocated for ECC (aka “bendable concrete”) over conventional concrete, being 500x more resistant to cracking and considerably better ecologically. For balance, he conceded its present disadvantages (shared with other cutting-edge technologies): a high initial outlay and the need for skilled labor. His closing endorsement held that transportation structures will be “safe, durable, and sustainable” with ECC.

The workshop ended with all four seminar leaders and moderator Shivan Mohammed seated on the stage and in conversation with the capacity audience in the AUK Auditorium. They addressed the audience’s concerns and comments and clarified their collective desire to make Kurdistan’s built environment more livable.