Building the Lord’s home

ISLAMABAD:

As symbols of Islamic architecture, mosques play a significant role in representing the magnificence of the almighty. Cascading domes, soaring minarets and intricate motifs and ornamentations are some of the features of Islamic art which, for as long as history can recall, have been used to add aesthetic value to mosques around the world. With the passage of time and the spread of Islam however, mosques too have taken modern forms where architectural styles of various cultures fuse together and give birth to structures truly indicative of globalisation. Where once mosques were designed to look equally spectacular both inside and out, contemporary architects find it best to focus on accentuating the sumptuousness of the mosque’s outer façade while leaving the the inner space for the user’s manipulation. According to eminent local architect Jamshed Khan, the advent of modern technology has opened new avenues for designers and architects and made the process more innovative than ever before. “We have new and improved tools and materials to work with now, as opposed to the past when more or less the same standard had to applied everywhere.

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Thus mosques of today are designed to suit the needs of the place and a lot of factors such as climate and user experience are taken into consideration to provide maximum facilities to worshipers.” A few yearis ago, Khan said, the construction of a mosque’s minaret and dome would alone require at least seven months to a year’s worth of hard-work and labour which would also upsurge the cost. Today however, with the advent of innovation in the field of construction and access to new materials like fibre sheets in place of cement, the same can be can be built within a fraction of time and cost. “A lot of modern mosques are being built within new housing societies in metropolitan cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Most of them use fibre-encrusted domes, which can cost between Rs 20,000 to Rs 100,000 depending on the size. However, it is still much cheaper than the ones made with cement,” he informed.

Speaking further about the construction of contemporary mosques, Khan told The Express Tribune that while the building’s exterior is meant to pay ode to the almighty’s magnificence, special care is taken to design inner sanctums in a way they allow man to be one with his lord. “There is where people come to find peace and serenity in the presence of their creator, so it is very important for a mosque’s interior to have a pleasant atmosphere. Thus especial considerations are taken when designing inner sanctums to allow worshipers to sit in the mosque and remember their lord with humility and submission,” the architect shared.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2020.