December 14. 2015
Istanbul, Turkey
Sancaklar Mosque aims
to address the fundamental issues of designing a mosque by distancing itself
from the current architectural discussions based on form and focusing solely on
the essence of religious space./Emre
The Sancaklar Mosque is located in Buyukçekmece, a suburban neighborhood on
the outskirts of Istanbul.
The high walls surrounding the park on the upper courtyard depicts a clear
boundary between the chaotic outer world, and the serene atmosphere of the
public park.
The long canopy stretching out from the park, and a vertical prismatic mass
of stone (minaret), becomes the only architectural element visible from the
outside.
The building, located below the canopy, blends in completely with the
topography and can be accessed from a path from the upper courtyard through the
park. As one moves through the landscape, down the hill, and in between the
walls to enter the mosque, the outside world is left behind.
The interior of the mosque is a simple cave like space with walls of
concrete and slate. The concrete ceiling is shaped like contour lines on a
topographic map. The only ornament is the daylight that enters from the slits
and fractures along the Qiblah wall, changing according to the time of day. A
black painted glass wall, with a piece of modern calligraphy, reflects the
image of the space.
Women are separated from the men by a perforated metal screen. This is the
first time in mosque architecture women can pray in the same row as the men.
The teahouse, communal space and library, are situated across from the
mosque in the open space. Also included in the complex are the adjacent
ablution halls and restrooms as well as the imam's house from where he can
reach the hall directly.
The project constantly plays off of the tension between man-made and natural. The contrast between the natural stone stairs following the natural slope of the landscape and the thin reinforced concrete slab spanning over 6 meters to form the canopy helps enhance this dual relationship./Emre Arolat Architects
The project constantly plays off of the tension between man-made and natural. The contrast between the natural stone stairs following the natural slope of the landscape and the thin reinforced concrete slab spanning over 6 meters to form the canopy helps enhance this dual relationship./Emre Arolat Architects
ESSENCE
This is any place where you prostrate.
It is clean.
It has been built with the motto of humility.
It neither boasts of its form nor does it swell with its own image.
It does not interfere with the Creator and His people through its grandeur.
It avoids that.
It rather seeks the hidden essence behind the form.
It lightly touches upon the earth.
It becomes almost one with both the hill and the valley through its surface
borrowed from nature.
It looks as if it had always been there.
The interior is as plain as its exterior.
It does not adorn; neither does it scream like so many others.
Like I said, it is modest.
Its only decoration is the light that washes the Kıblah wall.
A wise man said, "I want to pray here as soon as possible" when
he saw the first sketches.
This sincere wish made me so happy.
I hope all believers become happy when they pray in awe here.
/Emre Arolat,
Architect. April, 2013
