Historical References and Contemporary Design ‘Through (wo of the recent designs of our firm Shubeilat Badran Associates of Amman, Jordan—the Stae Mosque of Baghdad and the Grand Mosque of Riyadh—t will attempt 1 adress the question of how contemporary design practice can make use of the cultural heritage of a society and still meet the requirements of contemporary Ife. ‘gue ts Baghdad Sate Movgv.Sie Panie Mosque of Baghdad, the client was the Municipality of whose administrative Turning first to the Baghdad represented by the Irgi architect Rila nd organizational abilities proved to be outstanding, ‘he client reflected an inent that was move clearly politcal than it was religious or ‘even social. The municipality had in mind a mosque that would a he samme time be 4 landmark and an expression of technological achievement. I invited architects From a range of cultures to submit their designs so that de client would have & variety of proposed schemes. bere Ee ‘ue 3: Baghdad Soe Mogan Mo! howing housing roting rm the mosque rein! fo (resize iyo acesrica Referens Comemponry De 1s ‘gure: Baghdd Sate Msgum Min nance ‘When we began our work we had lite knowledge of the architectural heritage of Iraq. Our familiarity with it was more oF Jess limited fo stuctures such as ‘Mesopotamian ziggurats and Abbasid monuments like the great mosque at Samarra. The client was extremely helpful in intoducing us 10 examples of the lragi Islamic heritage ineloding the madrasa al-Mustansiriyya, the Khan Murjan, and other buildings that represented the monumentality they were seeking. "The topography of lag is fat, with rivers and palm tees, very diferent fiom ‘he hilly tereain Las accustomed to in Jordan. The countryside had both a distinct building material and a typical composition and eolor that gave fragiarehitectare is character and which T had 10 understand and absorb if I was to design appropriately for that country "The designated site was suburban, presumably to allow sufficient space forthe ‘monumental satement the client sought, though at te same time it was certainly in dlieet contrast othe tradition ofthe mosque asa socal and urban institution. The spatial requirements were vast, The specifications called for an indoor prayer space to accommodate 30,000 worshipers and an outdoor space For 15,000 t0 20,000 worshipers. The two spaces combined would have been suficent for an srfel, ‘To counteract the colossal impression these requirements would make we decided to provide an urban texte and character tothe project. Such an approach would also help to make up forthe building's isolation. We used the buildings required for the mosque's ancillary functions to provide a composition that approximated that ofa city. The complex was conceived as an urban eluster with the symbolic elements of dome and minaret suggesting the skyline of a traditional town. The housing required we made as a separate cluster juxtaposed t0 the ‘mosque but rotated in a way that emphasized its axiality to Mecca. Landscaping ‘that included palm tres, wate, and patterned pavements was also used in a way ‘that would help generaean impression ofan ragi environment, while atthe same