StudiOZ designed a mosque in Kayseri Municipality in memory of Sinan, the architect because historically, the Turkish mosque reached its highest potential under his design. Using a single dome placed upon a square form, Sinan created a metaphor of the mosque being the most stable form to symbolize infinity. Hundreds of years after Sinan, the mosque typology is still viewed as an indispensable component of Turkish life. For the StudiOZ’s proposal, “The Mosque” criticizes this holy and public place by reforming benefits to urban space, symbolically and functionality of the building.
More images after the break.
The mosque creates a shell with a steel constructed pattern, based on the concept points to infinity/divinity. A holy place to pray is nestled inside the large concrete sphere and the dome is actually large enough to gather the urban society together.
“On the contrary to the meaning which refers to the meeting point of community, it transforms into the meeting point of society and finds a place with its neutrality, purity and symbolically in the city within the reference of its history. It stands up for the prayer, not only with rituals but also by reaching the information, and transforms to contribute for the consciousness of society. Therefore it provides some place to reach necessities of today besides traditional functions. While targeting to reach both of virtual and sensory information with library, providing the information passing between the generations via education in workshops as well. And with its exhibition space it presents the works to the community/society.”
