Prepared By:

Arch. Asis
• Islamic Origins
• Islamic Characteristics
• Islamic Public Buildings
• Haggia Sophia Documentary
*Film Showing
2nd half of this class
period
-Students will require for an output to
Be submitted in Schoolbook
 Islamic Public Buildings
 Mosques
 Madresahs
 Mausoleums
 Islamic architecture gains its origins when the
Muslims began to build in conquered lands
 Islamic architecture gains its origins when the
Muslims began to build in conquered lands

 Byzantium
 Greece
 Egypt
 Middle East
 Islamic architecture shares many forms and
structural concerns with Byzantine, Medieval,
and Renaissance architecture
 Islamic architectural characteristics
 Large interior spaces
 Domes and ceilings
 Arches and columns
 Walls and vaults
 Wall-like facades
 A particular characteristic is the architectural
decoration
 Independent of structure
 Intricate patterns completely cover exteriors and
interiors
 Domes of various shapes
 Arch forms in the shape of a horseshoe are uniquely
Islamic
 Mosques
 Considered the most important building
 Serve as a gathering place for prayer, teaching,
and a town hall
 Its form has been very consistent through time
and place
 Mosques
 The earliest mosques were built to represent the
prophet Mohamed’s house
▪ A courtyard and covered area for prayer
 All mosques were axial and oriented towards
Mecca
▪ Mecca is Islam’s most holy site
 Mosques
 Dome of the Rock
▪ Located in Jerusalem
▪ c. 684 A.D.
▪ Built on the spot where Muslims believe the
prophet Mohamed was carried to heaven
 Mosques
 Dome of the Rock
▪ Features
▪ Octagonal format
▪ Vaulting
▪ Columns
▪ Piers
▪ Rich mosaic decoration
▪ Dome of gilded wood, considered a symbol of the power of Islam
 Mosques
 Great Mosque
▪ Cordoba, Spain
▪ A culminating monument
of the early Islamic period
 Mosques
 Great Mosque
▪ Double-tiered arches
 Possibly derived from the Roman aqueducts in
Spain
▪ Dome featuring cross-bracings, interlacing arches,
rich stucco, and mosaic decorative overlays
 Led to a unique Islamic style
 Madresahs
 Theological colleges and schools of religion
 Usually attached directly to mosques
 Typical structure
▪ Four vaulted halls surrounding a center courtyard
▪ The largest side hall is known as the qibla
 Madresahs
 The four halls are usually surrounded
▪ Apartments
▪ Schoolrooms
 Exterior decoration usually only surrounds
openings and marks the roofline
▪ Unlike other public buildings where decoration starts at
the foundation and ends at the roof
Madresahs
 Mausoleums
 Memorials to holy men and rulers
 Usually centrally planed
and domed
The most famous Islamic
mausoleum is the Taj Mahal
 Mausoleums
 Mausoleum of the Taj Mahal
▪ c. 1631 – 1648
▪ Located in Agra, India
▪ Built as a memorial by a Muslim Indian
ruler to his wife
 Mausoleums
 Mausoleum of the Taj Mahal
▪ Features
▪ Assortment of motifs from Persian and Turkish sources
▪ Many gardens and water pools
▪ Inlaid stone patterns and Koranic inscriptions
▪ Lacy marble walls
▪ Large portals
▪ Extravagant domes
 Other Features
 Materials
▪ Brick
▪ Local stone
▪ Marble
▪ Stucco
 Other Features
 Domes
▪ Used to cover prayer halls and other spaces
▪ Unique to Islam was the many shapes of the domes
▪ Round
▪ Octagonal
▪ Multilobed
▪ Star-shaped
• Haggia Sophia Documentary
*Film Showing
-Students will require for an output to Be
submitted in Schoolbook
*SEE ASSESSMENT TAB with the subj:
“Haggia Sophia Documentary Assessment”
Be guided on the deadline scheduled set in the
schoolbook