History and Philosophy of Architecture-

III

Islamic Architecture

PRESENTED BY: Ar. Sumbal Kashif, Ar.Fatima Sher

 Islamic
Architecture
Common
Languages
AR.SUMBAL KASHIF, AR.FATIMA SHER, SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE
Islamic Decorations:
---Islamic decoration is one of the unifying factors that for centuries
have linked buildings and objects from all over the Islamic world across
an enormous geographic span, from Spain to China and Indonesia.
---The purpose of Islamic decoration is to conceal the structure rather
than reveal it. The elements of decorations are mostly limited to
Calligraphy, geometry and foliation but their manipulation results in a
rich effect.
---Despite the fact that mostly building surfaces are flat not sculptured
but Islamic decoration through contrast of colors and complexity of
design has a three dimensional effect.
---Islamic decorations are tightly controlled by the discipline of grids
which create frames by which building facades are designed.
 Arabesqu
e
---The classical vine and scroll
motifs that had already been
practiced in Hellenistic art of the
near east and as far as in China,
provided artists of Islam with a
starting point and motivated
them to evolve more
complicated designs. This
complexity was achieved
through art of Arabesque.
---The geometrically overlapping and interlacing of floral and vegetal patterns and their
tendency of extending in every direction is characteristics of Arabesque Art. This
interlacement has the geometrical complexity and rhythmic quality. The term Arabesque is
based on the principle of repetition and continuous self multiplications.
---It is very clear that Arabesque combines very varied plant forms. Vine is found together
with acanthus and palm instead of grapes, it occasionally bears pomegranate, pine cones
or flowers. It care nothing for the botanical categories. This shows its tendency towards
denaturalization of natural objects.
Classical Hellenistic images
---By 7th C, Arabesque seems to be derived
from the images of the vine and scroll and they
are found in the décor of the several ancient
Islamic monuments particularly at Mshatta,
the great mosque of Damascus & in the
mosaics of the Dome of the Rock in its more
natural form.
---By 10th C, continuous arabesque with ogee motifs and overlapping stems was well established in the stucco, marble and mosaic decoration of the great mosque of Cordoba.

Ogee Motif
Alhambra palace, Granada Another image of arabesque
From Umayyad period in spain
---By 11th C, mature Arabesque was widely used on architecture in both
Spain and Egypt. Classic Arabesque of this period is that used in square
panels on the façade of mosque of Al-hakim in Cairo. Where interlacings
are built on geometric principles.
---By 13th C, examples of Arabesque are
found in India, combining the motifs from
Hindu tradition, the Lotus scroll in particular.

Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque
Mosque of sisi shahd, India.
From the trunk of the tree grows twisting curved
stems, forming shapes that from a distance seem
abstract and , but are intact organic and
asymmetrical.
Mausoleum in Cairo, Egypt.
Like other type of Islamic
decoration arabesque can be
carved in three dimensions.
Geometry
---Islam transformed
geometry into a major art
form using the circle as the
basis of generation of
patterns. This basic unit
circle can be developed into
square, pentagons, star
shaped motifs. These forms
are then elaborated by
multiplications and
subdivisions, by rotation, ---Surfaces curved or flat, in brick or stucco are
change of scale and by covered by design that are infinitely
symmetrical arrangements expandable. Patterns are rendered visible from
to create a variety of the distance by contrast of plane, which permit
effects. the play of light and shade.
---The star, six, eight,
twelve or sixteen points is
one of the fundamental
shapes of Islamic
geometrical design. It can
be used in two dimensions
or in three dimensions to
transform a dome into a
complex net of interlinked
lines.
---In Islam these infinitely
extensible designs have
been interpreted as the
visual demonstration of the
singleness of God and His
presence everywhere. They
present Unity in Multiplicity.
 Calligraphy
---Inscriptions are found incorporated
in the decoration of every Islamic
building. Arabic lettering was brought
to a high level of artistic sophistication
and scripts can vary from the flowering
cursive style to the angular Kufi.
---Often different styles appear on the
same building, some of them are so
complicated as to be barely legible. On
the tomb of taimur at Samarqand, the
drum of the dome has a continuous
inscription, whereas on the wall
beneath, an extremely stylized writing
is set on irregular panels defined by
darker colored tiles.
---Stone Calligraphic bands, both linear and circular proclaim the word
of God on the façade of the mosque of Al-Aqmar in Cairo. Fig.1
---Undulating bands of carving carry the Quaranic message along the
base of Qutab Minar, Delhi. In this example geometric and foliated
design mingle with Calligraphy. Fig.2

Fig.2 Fig.1
 - Cursive Style - Kufic Style
---Here decoration consist entirely of bands of
inscriptions that frame the portal and cross in ---Arabic reads from right to left but in Architecture i
placed vertically.
knot.
 Cursive calligraphy types

Kufi calligraphy types

 Play of Light
Light in Islamic architecture holds
ample symbolic meaning, (like showing
holiness of Allah or the heaven’s
light) , as much as it plays a part in the
interior space.
The development and multiplication of
muqarnas cells beneath the domes can
be understood by their function in
reflecting and refracting light.
To make more prominent the play of
light, shining ceramic materials and
even mirrors are utilized.
A similar effect is achieved in sheikh lutfalah
mosque in Isfahan.
Sun light reflects upward from the
windows of Alhambra Granada, to
be diffused in the muqarnas vaults.
Light penetrating through glass or screens project patterns onto the interior surfaces and
dissolves the boundaries between solids and voids.
Water
---Wealthy, fertility and
coolness are all associated with
water, which is an essential
part of Islamic architecture.

--- Water doesn’t necessarily

play the same role in
traditional European
architecture as it does in
Islamic architecture.

The Quran states that “every

living thing is made of water,”
and the prominence of this
thought is visible in Islam’s use
of water.
Water is important in both religious and
secular systems – shaping the aesthetics
of landscapes and breathing life into
structures. Water has notably been
greatly used in Islamic architecture
across the Middle East, as far as India to
the East and Spain.

Originally necessary for irrigation,

they were developed for their visual
beauty and incorporated into elaborate
architectural schemes.
It's both symbolic, representing purification and life, and practical, used to cleanse
the body and cool the air.
---Channels and pools are the most important
elements of Islamic gardens.

---In some of the most lavish Islamic buildings, water ---Pools give the sense of repose
flows through marble channels from room to room, and openness to the enclosed
expanding to fill the basins and descending in cascades courtyard.
from one level to another. Court of Mytles in Alhambra,
Granada.
---Sheets of still water act as a mirror
multiplying patterns and extending them
beyond the limitations of the physical. This
effect looks good whether the setting is
opened or confined.

The reflection of Haran minar near Lahore,

gives it monumental character.
---By contrast in the
courtyard of Yousaf
Madrassah the reflected
decoration enlarges the
space which is confined.

---Water emphasized the axis

of the building, linking the
various spaces in directional
sequence. i.e. in the court of
lion, Alhambra Plalace.
Thanks