Religious Architecture: The Latest Architecture and News

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In this proposal for the Central Mosque of Pristina, Asar Consulting Engineers decided to use the traditional mosque components for a kind of new mosque design in a new form and a different combination to make it more fitting for its time and location. This new combination is done with the aim of keeping the functional value of different components and increasing their efficiency. One of the elements of mosque architecture which can’t be separated from this design is green and open space. This space is so important that it should become an element at the entrance of the mosque. More images and architects' description after the break.

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The idea behind the design by Invert Studios (Victoria Stotskaia, Raof Abdelnabi, Kamel Lokman Salem) for the Central Mosque of Pristina started with a very simple question:How can we can design a building that should play in harmony with the surrounding neighborhood, integrated with the urbanity, and for a very powerful reason want to stand out as a futuristic icon for the city? By proposing a design that is not conventional and common, and in an effort to change the way the public perceives mosques external shapes, they created an example of a world class building that reflects the Islamic Architectural Heritage. At the same time, this building stands out with a high technology character. More images and architects' description after the break.

Designed by Tarh O Amayesh, their proposal for the Central Mosque of Pristina, the fundamental principal of the project comes from the definition of Mosque, which is a place for praying and going from body to soul. The prayer is someone who connects the earth to the sky, while the mosque is a space for the becoming. Becoming is a symbol of movement and movement is the source of the mosque (the house of god). This plan is shaped in this framework as the mosque is a symbol of ascending sprit from soil to the sky, from city to the Kiblah. More images and architects' description after the break.

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The idea behind the proposal for the Central Mosque of Pristina comes from the first religious needs and the study of the earliest styles of mosque architecture in Kosovo. Designed by Maden GROUP, the concept is to convey tradition through contemporary architecture while combining in the best mode of architecture and religious rules. Therefore, the architects developed in geometric foundations, by combining simple geometrical elements. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Following OAC’s win in the international design competition and completion of the master plan for the Famen Temple Zen Meditation Center in 2012, the architects recently completed the schematic designs for the buildings, landscape, and experiential features and art installations for meditation in the first phase of the project called the ‘Eightfold Path Forest’. As part of the new cultural master plan development on the site of the renowned 1,800 year-old Famen Buddhist Temple (aka Dharma Gate Temple) outside Xi’an, China, this project is one of the largest architectural and landscape commissions in the world focused around an historic religious temple.More images and architects' description after the break.

Designed by APTUM Architecture, their proposal for the Central Mosque of Pristina, titled MI’RAJ, is about a journey of ascension to prayer and the spatial experience that evolves. As the ascension to prayer begins, a sequence of events unfolds. As a result of the Islamic community of Pristina searching for a unifying symbol and identity that can bring together many disparate mosques scattered throughout the city, the proposal harnesses that need and brings together a sense of place and provides public space for the greater good of the community. More images and architects' description after the break.

Designed by Taller 301 and Land+Civilization Compositions, their main idea for the Central Mosque of Pristina is to re-interpret the elements that constitute the Mosque, without pushing the limits of the already established principles of Islamic Architecture. Located in Kosovo, a country rich in tradition and has confronted tough issues in recent years, the project intends to look back, and to see the way forward. More images and architects’ description after the break.

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Designed by TABB Architecture, their proposal for the Notre Dame de l’Assomption Cathedral in Port au Prince optimizes resources, producing designed solutions and teaming up for a change. Designing a New Cathedral for Port-au-Prince,not only will imply a beautiful, energy saving, affordable building, but a complete strategy plan to generate the labor force in order to sustain the local economy, teaching people construction techniques to support future needs. More images and architects' description after the break.

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Shigeru Ban just can’t get enough of paper tubes. The Japanese architect, renowned for his design of structures that can be quickly and inexpensively erected in disaster zones, is at it again in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, which was hit hard by a devastating earthquake last February. The earthquake of magnitude 6.3 killed over 200 people and inflicted irreparable damage on the city’s iconic gothic cathedral of 132 years. The cathedral was a copy of one in Oxford, England, and was one of the most famous landmarks of the Christchurch, pictured on postcards, souvenirs and tea towels.

A pioneer in so-called “emergency architecture,” Shigeru Ban has begun construction on a highly anticipated, unique replacement: a simple A-frame structure composed of paper tubes of equal length and 20 foot containers. The tubes will be coated with waterproof polyurethane and flame retardants that the architect has been developing since 1986 - years before environmental friendliness and the use of inexpensive recycled materials were even a concern in architecture.

Read more about Ban's visionary Cardboard Cathedral after the break...

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