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The mosque, Avenues Masjid, is said to be designed by Zahad Hadid for a commercial area in Kuwait city. No reliable source confirmed such information. It is mostly displayed in some Kuwait websites.
Medinanet open discussion on this project in the light of the Islamic Architecture ethics and principles.
Its outer form, that is the only part displayed for the public is very controversial. The design of a mosque dictates a multidirection approach that responds to various requirements such as urban setting, internal functionality, spiritual values, cultural context, etc.
A mosque is mostly an inward looking space where most activities are taking place in isolation from the outerworld. Material aspect of mosques thus becomes secondary in the design of mosques. Does this formal approach turn architecture, especially when it comes to religious buildings, into a matter of visual consumption?
Prayer in mosques is conventionally made in parallel rows that are set behind the Imam. The length of first rows is recommended in Islam. A columnless space also helps in insuring the continuity of these rows. The Qibla wall is recommended to be opaque and simple. Can such a curved form fit the function of the mosque that is mostly dictated by the mode of the Islamic prayer, conteemplation and spirituality?
In relation to context, most mosques were and still are nodes in the city where roads and streets converge to them. They were entirely integrated in the urban fabrics and only known by their minarets and gates. Their courtyards were surrounded by shops and public open spaces that generated community life. Doesn’t this trend of isolated pieces of architecture accelerate the desintegration of cities and the continuity of the modernism spirit that is based on competitivity, and hegemony of architects names?
Is creatvity shifitng architecture to a mere game of forms and subjective play of desires?
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