Rethinking Architecture of Worship (A Mosque)

Abstract

The thesis topic I have selected is “Rethinking Architecture of Worship” The inspiration is from the Iqbal’s poetry on an Islamic space written in his nazam, Farman e Khuda: کیوں خالق و مخلوق میں حائل رہیں پردے یِ رانِِ پ کلیسا کِ کلیسا سے اُٹھا دو میں اخوش ن و بیزار وُں ہ ر َ رم َ م کی وںِ ِ سِ سے میرے لیِ ِ ّ ٹ م کا حرم اور بنا دوِ The architecture of Islamic spaces starts from the Prophet PBUH’s mosque in Medina. It was a center for religious as well as all the secular affairs of the state. It was made following the concept of functionality and juxtaposition of spaces. However, as the Islamic state expended, the religious spaces of other religions were converted into mosques the prominent example being Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and Hagia Sophia in Spain etc. The mosque architecture was later developed in golden period of Islam but it gradually turned into a religious center only and the social aspects were neglected. A mosque is a social space where a lot of functions juxtapose in order to develop a social gathering space. Moreover, a mosque should be the simplest structure of a vicinity so that people from all financial classes may relate to it. The intent is to define what an architecture of a religious space for Muslims should look like. The research intends to develop the true architecture design language of a mosque in contemporary world. The space should be more relatable to the users where they may feel at ease. The basic methodology will be to strip off all the “non – functional aspects” of a mosque to make it simpler. The nonfunctional aspects refer to the aspects that are merely symbological / intend to ornament a space where not needed. The architectural language will be of a human scale so that a common person may relate to it. Moreover, other overlapping functions will be added to the mosque to make it more approachable space at any given time.