Saturday, September 19, 2009

First Mosque Designed

Last week the Sakirin Mosque opened in Istanbul, Turkey.
It’s the first mosque in the country to have an interior
designed by a woman, Zeynep Fadillioglu. An interior designer
known for jet setting ways, she nonetheless won a commission
to redesign the religious structure in Istanbul.

She even recruited women to help in the construction. Begun last year,
the project was just recently completed. It's a fairly impressive building,
subtly blending modern techniques and materials
into what might be the world's most conservative design
vernacular.

Admittedly, I have not been inside a lot of mosques and don’t know
much about how light and open space is supposed to work in them,
traditionally. I just know that this has a crazy gorgeous interior,
with a lovely soaring, open feel to it. It’s got lots of gold
in the color scheme, but it manages to be tasteful and elegant,
instead of looking like Trump Mosque. The unfinished wood accents
contrast nicely. And I love how the “dripping chandelierâ€
catches and magnifies natural light. I want that thing
in my house!


















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