Assassin's Creed Mirage - Residential Rich Architecture - General Artistic Direction

Part of Sofia Studio's mandate on Assassin's Creed Mirage, was defining the characteristic visuals on variety of essential 'building blocks' a.k.a architectural kits.
In this specific case, the idea was to provide overall artistic direction and distinctive look for residential buildings in the rich districts of Baghdad. 
I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to "roll up my sleeves", and define the overall design language, structure, and details of a typical rich residential architecture, via some good-old-fashioned Concept Art-ing you can see here . 
Respecting the cultural characteristics, specifics of construction methods and materials used in the time period, was key early on the project. 
Focusing on providing recognizable look and differentiation from the rest of the 'architectural kits' (i.e. poor, administrative, landmark etc.) was difficult, but at the same time absolutely vital for us. 
This process was as immensely fun as it was challenging, as almost nothing of the time period had survived to present day. 
Hopefully you'll agree, that we managed to secure an authentic-looking 9th century Baghdad 
Feel free to check out the video if you find the topic 'Recreating A Lost City' interesting and want to delve deeper in the mindset and approach we had on Mirage.
Cheers!