Obsidian Architects — Architecture, interior & exterior design and design-build studio in Erbil, Kurdistan.

Erbil · 36.19° N 44.01° E

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Line drawing and visualisation of the same building, registered line for line.

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What We Render Is What We Build. Visualisation: a black stone house with a reflecting pool on a limestone plateau near Erbil at dusk, shown beside its architectural line drawing

Exceptional architecture is more than creating beautiful spaces.

It is about transforming ambitious visions into meaningful environments, through thoughtful design, technical precision and uncompromising attention to detail. From the first concept to the final finish, every stage is guided by one unified vision and one responsible team.

About the studio

One camera. One building.

The same view, held still, from the first line to the first night. Every stage of the work is the same building, with more of it made real.

Visualisation: a black stone house with a reflecting pool on a limestone plateau near Erbil at dusk, shown beside its architectural line drawing
  1. 01 Drawing Lines that fix every proportion.
  2. 02 Model Mass, light and shadow, tested in white.
  3. 03 Section The building cut open: structure, levels, rooms.
  4. 04 Built Stone, glass and water, exactly as drawn.
  5. 05 Dawn Low sun on basalt, before the day begins.
  6. 06 Night The interior becomes the light.

Concept visualisations of one house, created for this website.

One material. Two perspectives.

Obsidian, a natural volcanic glass, has historically been shaped into two remarkable objects: the blade and the mirror. Each reveals a different quality of the same material, and together they form the foundation of how we work.

Visualisation: a piece of black obsidian with a flaked blade edge on one side and a mirror-polished face on the other

The blade

Precision & structure

Strength, accuracy and craftsmanship. The architectural side of Obsidian, where every line, proportion and structural detail is carefully considered and precisely executed.

The mirror

Reflection & vision

Creativity, perspective and transformation. Our approach to interior design, atmosphere and visual identity, where spaces and ideas become expressions of individuality and purpose.

Studies in mass and light

Concept visualisations created for this website. Not completed projects.

  • Visualisation: a black stone house with a reflecting pool on a limestone plateau near Erbil at dusk, shown beside its architectural line drawing
    The house at night
  • Slot window in split stone
  • Visualisation: a dark stone interior crossed by a diagonal shaft of daylight, with a square window reflected in a polished floor
    Walking into the light
  • Visualisation: a piece of black obsidian with a flaked blade edge on one side and a mirror-polished face on the other
    Fracture of obsidian
  • Stair under a skylight
  • Knife-edge of water
  • Visualisation: the corner of a black basalt building with a sharp chamfered edge against a pale sky
    The chamfered corner
  • Visualisation: stone, glass and steel samples laid out beside an architectural floor plan in a beam of light
    Material study

One team, six stages

From the first line to the last finish.

Concept, drawings, visualisation, materials, construction and finishing are handled by the same team, so nothing is lost between the idea and the building.

How we work
  1. Concept

    We start with your ambition, your site and your budget, and develop a concept that answers all three.

  2. Architectural drawings

    The concept is refined into precise drawings, with every proportion and detail resolved before anything is built.

  3. Visualisation

    You see the building and its spaces before construction begins. What we render is what we build.

  4. Material selection

    Stone, glass, metal and finish are chosen for how they look, how they age and how they are built.

  5. Construction

    The team that designed the project builds it, carrying every decision from the drawings through to site.

  6. Final finishing

    The last details are executed with the same care as the first line, and the space is handed over as envisioned.

We don't simply imagine what could exist. We take responsibility for making it exist exactly as envisioned.

Tell us what you want to build.

Every project represents an investment, an ambition and a personal story. Start with a conversation about your site, your space or your idea.