ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

• INFLUENCES
A) HISTORY
- 622 AD, year of the Hegira when Mohammed moved
from Mecca to Medina
- In 10 years, Mohammed made framework of religion
and military organization charged with spreading the
faith
- Concerted efforts by conquering Arabic tribes to carry
Islam into Central Asia and Westward to the Atlantic,
along trade routes into Africa and India, Turks and
Mongols
 – Always established a cultural tie with Arabic heartland,
with annual pilgrimage to Mecca as a once-in-a-lifetime
obligation
– Tribal groups
» Public life was reserved for men
» Women had a secondary role – for domestic and
agricultural work
- Spread of Islam is associated with military
conquest and racial movements
B) RELIGION
- Last of 3 great religions of Middle East
- Complete philosophy of life and government
- One god Allah, Mohammed is the prophet
- Faith is held to be god’s will for creation
- 3 works
- Koran – revelation through Mohammed
- Hadith, book of sayings and injunctions
- Law, from tradition and example
– Acceptance of the transitory nature of earthly life
– Personal humility
– Abhorrence of image worship
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

DESCRIPTION
• Islamic architecture is a product of the rapid conquest of
diverse territories by a people with no architectural tradition.
• The Islamic way of life had a profound impact on its
architecture:
• No essential difference in techniques between religious and non
religious buildings
• Important architectural endeavor is normally expended on buildings
having a direct social or community purpose
• Decorations tend toward the abstract, using geometric, calligraphic and
plant motifs, with preference for a uniform field of decoration rather than
focal element
• Symmetry and balance is the concept of perfect creation
• Centered upon God
INFLUENCE IN STYLES

1 Persian architecture
2 Moorish architecture
3 Turkistan (Timurid) architecture
4 Ottoman Turkish architecture
5 Fatimid architecture
6 Mamluks architecture
7 Mughal (Babur) architecture
8 Sino-Islamic architecture
9 Afro-Islamic architecture
DECORATION
• Variety of mouldings, friezes, crestings
• Abstract and geometric motifs, in lieu of human and animal forms
• Motifs from calligraphy, floral abstraction and geometric
interlacement
• Carvings in bas relief
• Stone inlay and mosaic
• Patterned brickwork
• Carved stucco
• Ceramic facing and mosaic
• Glass mosaic
• Painting
• Timber inlay
• Arabesque
ORIENTATION

• Related to the principal axis , the kibla

• Axis related to the formal landscape as an integral part of the
design
OPENINGS/ARCHES
HORSESHOE
SCALLOPED
OGEE POINTED
TREFOIL
 Definition of Terms
1. Masjid or Mesjid – a small prayer house
2. Mosque or Jami – principal place of worship
3. Mihrab – niche oriented towards Mecca
4. Mimber – raised platform for ceremonial announcements
5. Iwan,ivan – open-fronted vault facing a court
6. Bab- gateway
7. Sahn – courtyard of a mosque
8. Minaret – tower from which a call to prayer is made
9. Harem – women’s or private chamber of a house or palace
10. Selamik – men’s or guest’s quarters
11. Kibla,kible – axis oriented towards Mecca
12. Muezzin – caller who summons the faithful to prayer
13. Imam – man who leads congregation in prayer
14. Calipin – successor o the prophet as military, judicial, or spiritual leader of
Islam
15. Madrassah – religious college and mosque
Great Mosque of Damascus
Earliest surviving mosque
Dome of the Rock or Kubbet-
es-Sakhra ( Jerusalem) –
most important Islamic
architecture
- Great central dome covering
the summit of Mt. Moriah, from
where the prophet is believed
to have made his ride to
heaven
Great Mosque of Samarra in Iraq
Columns, Piers, Arches
Domes
ARCHITECTURE OF MOSQUE AND BUILDINGS AND
ELEMENTS OF ISLAMIC STYLE

Interior of Mezquita in Cordoba,

Spain. Most notable hypostyle
mosque. Supported by 850 Hassan II Mosque in Morocco,
columns 210m high and a floor room for
25,000 worshippers
Taj Mahal, Agra

Iwan entrance to Taj Mahal

Sahn, usually feature a centrally positioned,
symmetrical axis pool known as howz where
ablutions are peformed.
The Qu’ran uses the garden
as an analogy for paradise

Gardens
ARABESQUE- elaborate application of repeating geometric forms

Interior of Selimiye Mosque in Edirne Dome in arabesque design

Geometric and
radiating forms
Arabic Calligraphy ( Taj Mahal)
 Baybars Mosque

Qolsharif Mosque in
Kazan
 Classical mosque in
Hassan Mosque
Brunei
King Faisal Mosque, Islamabad
 Badshahi Mosque

Morocco, Africa
Floating Mosque, Kota
Kinabalu
City Mosque ( Great Mosque) , Kota
Kinabalu
Chinese Style Minaret of
the Great Mosque