The research discusses the impact of the events represented in the act of war that occurs on the urban system of cities, which leads to a forced shift in its morphology due to the collapse of important landmarks after the end of the event. The urban programs work with cities destroyed by wars with them in terms of commitment and liberation in a way that restores the identity to the place and is restore the life that was lost due to the war. Or urban programs work to forge new relationships whose basis is the new positions that emerged after the war, and which constitute a new history for the city. The new urban positions carry a double architectural value, because they express two important events: the first in considering it a distinctive landmark that was essential in the emergence of the city, the second, considering this landmark was affected by the war, which led to its demise or losing a large part of its elements. The research problem arose in the presence of the need to activate and revive the landmarks and sites on which the city was formed and the places affected by the act of war, in a way that the recipient can read the event of the war in the city’s architecture, and the research aims at reading the war event in the city’s architecture and the strategies that integrate the archaic sites with the sites produced by the event of the war.

The era spirit is witnessing continuous intellectual transformations in the international architectural field, influenced by the contemporary requirements. Various design trends have emerged about dealing with these contemporaries. Some designers focused on presentation importance of Iraqi contemporary identity, while others try to employ it in other directions that are not consistent with the local character. The research problem is knowledge lack in clarifying the role of contemporary requirements in shaping the identity of Iraqi buildings for the period (1960-1980) and how to employ the architectural act of its designers. The aim to determine how the architect responds to these contemporary requirements through the architectural act that distinguishes each designer from others. The theoretical framework is embodied by establishing Dealing Levels with local identity and reading it in a specific time and place within the levels of Explanation, Interpretation, and Disassembly, which were linked to the concept of an integrated response in achieving it through three strategies of revival, renewal, and reform. Then the elements are applied to a sample of the most prominent Iraqi architects in the period above to obtain results and conclusions, which emerged in achieving an integrated response case in dealing with contemporary requirements.

Alauqaiser Church is one of the Christian heritage sites that are mentioned extensively in historical literature. The site is described to be in the desert to the south west f Karbala, Iraq. The site was excavated by the Iraqi government to reveal most of the church building which was covered by soil for long time. However, it is believed that there could a human settlement around the church which is not investigated or determined physically on the ground. This paper aims to investigate the possibility of the existence of any settlement or development around the site and stimulate further research about this important fact. Photogrammetric reconstruction was used to prepare engineering drawings and digital three-dimensional models of the site. Pictures were captured using off-the-shelf small drone which successfully provided enough level of details to prepare precise orthophoto and digital elevation model of the site. Results of the site’s orthophoto and digital elevation model showed that there are clear footprints of physical development around the church.