Another important 21st century mosque is ‘The Vanishing Mosque’ in the
UAE. Its name ‘refers to the vanishing point, as experienced when pointing
towards Mecca as well as the fact that the architectural concept essentially
is at bare minimum. Stripping down the idea of a physical building, and
creating a place of worship in the alleys between buildings, The Vanishing
Mosque includes an ablution pool beneath an open-air, triangular, stepped
platform for prayer. This Vanising Mosque by Manhattan studio RUX Design
was the winner of the Traffic Design Competition Vol. 2 – Design as Reform, in
Dubai, 2010. Their design was chosen from among ten international finalists
for the “Mosque Through Architecture” category. The Vanishing Mosque
will be commissioned and built by Dubai gallery and studio Traffic in the
United Arab Emirates. Intricately woven into the texture of Dubai, Vanishing
Mosque is shaded by neighboring buildings and retractable sun-screens. Its
plaza will be used for prayer five times daily and as an open public space
at other times. The colonnade arches and brickwork of the surrounding
structures will decrease in size towards the space’s apex, deepening the
sense of distance looking towards Mecca. The Vanishing Mosque is an urban
plaza as well as a sacred prayer space. It is a symbolic and cinematic spatial
experience between buildings. Retail, cultural venues, apartments, hotels,
and deep shaded arcades define the edges of its plaza. This plaza space is
used exclusively for prayer during Salat, 5 times a day and it is open to the
public as a social space during the rest of the day and evening.
A MOSQUE WITHOUT WALLS OR DOORS
The Vanishing Mosque has no doors or walls. It is open to anyone and
everyone at anytime, seamless with the streets and the bustling city life. Its
design is actually inspired by one of the fundamental traditions of Islam: the
need to orient towards the direction of Mecca. The city floor and building
façades of the plaza all bend and angle in unison, creating a dramatic forced
perspective view through the city to Mecca.
The arches of the colonnades and the marble bricks on the building façades
get smaller in the direction of Mecca making them appear more distant then
they actually are. Retractable shading structures that limit the afternoon
sunlight are also designed to reinforce the sense of forced perspective.
Almost every angle and every detail of the Vanishing Mosque foster this
vanishing point perspective and a sense of infinity. RUX Design’s Vanishing
Mosque aims to create public grounds for social and cultural dialogue with
its welcoming and open-air plaza.
MART-NİSAN / MARCH-APRIL 2011 • NATURA 21
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