London firm Assemblage has won a United Nations ideas competition to design and build new housing in Iraq.

Assemblage director Peter Besley said the firm presented its plans to the Ministry of Construction & Housing in Baghdad just before Christmas and was confirmed as winner over the holiday break.

He said: “It’s more than an ideas competition. They wanted to see a fully functioning masterplan and unit design to use on any site across Iraq.”

The government is looking at using its winning design on three sites in the capital which it wants to start work on this year.

Assemblage beat rivals from the Netherlands, France and several of Arab states. The competition was run by the UN’s urban development arm, Habitat, and is part of a wider plan by the UN and the Iraq government to build more housing across the country.

Its winning design features an integrated settlement including schools, markets, a health centre along with green spaces and playing fields.