After a difficult life and the loss of her husband and near relatives, the client donated a part of her land for a mosque to be built. After her death, her grand-daughter, an architect, acted on her behalf as fundraiser, designer, client and builder to bring the project to completion.

The mosque is built on the northeast limits of the city, and surrounded by low-cost simple structure buildings and small appartment blocks in more recent constructions.
The mosque is built on the northeast limits of the city, and surrounded by low-cost simple structure buildings and small appartment blocks in more recent constructions. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Rajesh Vora

In an increasingly dense neighbourhood of Dhaka, the Mosque was raised on a plinth on a site axis creating a 13-degree angle with the qibla direction, which called for innovation in the layout. A cylindrical volume was inserted into a square, facilitating a rotation of the prayer hall, and forming light courts on four sides. The hall is a space raised on eight peripheral columns. Ancillary functions are located in spaces created by the outer square and the cylinder. 

A gap in the brick wall denote the direction of the qibla, and then splays it so that, during worship, people don’t get distracted by the sight lines onto the street, but see instead the sunlight bouncing off the thickness of the wall
A gap in the brick wall denote the direction of the qibla, and then splays it so that, during worship, people don’t get distracted by the sight lines onto the street, but see instead the sunlight bouncing off the thickness of the wall © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Rajesh Vora
Apart from being the spiritual centre for the residents, the mosque became a community centre, a place to gather, a place that was orderly, clean, and filled with light and good ventilation
Apart from being the spiritual centre for the residents, the mosque became a community centre, a place to gather, a place that was orderly, clean, and filled with light and good ventilation © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Rajesh Vora
The prayer hall, a column-free space supportd by eight concrete columns, is reflective space. With no views out, all light is from above, that comes down and bathes the brick walls.
The prayer hall, a column-free space supportd by eight concrete columns, is reflective space. With no views out, all light is from above, that comes down and bathes the brick walls. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Rajesh Vora

There are two structural systems in place – the load-bearing brick walls which form the outer perimeter of the Mosque, and which house the smaller spaces with short spans, and the reinforced concrete-frame structural system that spans the prayer hall, which is a column-free space of 15.25m x 15.25m, supported by eight concrete columns. The load-bearing brick walls exploit the depth between the outer square and an inner circle (in plan), allowing for buttressing in the interstitial space. This also allows panels between the load-bearing structure to have a jali of brick, leaving out alternate bricks and rotating them. 

The technology used is appropriate for the environment and the local conditions. It is labour intensive and uses skill sets available locally. The exposed brick was well executed and Shariful Islam is an excellent brick mason.
The technology used is appropriate for the environment and the local conditions. It is labour intensive and uses skill sets available locally. The exposed brick was well executed and Shariful Islam is an excellent brick mason. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Rajesh Vora
© Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Rajesh Vora
The ablution uses the additional depth allocated by the cylinder off-centred on the east facing side
The ablution uses the additional depth allocated by the cylinder off-centred on the east facing side © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Rajesh Vora

The architect was requested by the community to consider multiple floors or keep provision for expansion. Multi-storey mosques are common practice in Bangladesh in recent times. The mosques keep expanding their floor areas with no quality of space to evoke any sense of spirituality. Marina’s explanation for deciding against providing the additional space was that, “every mosque with multiple floors remains inactive and empty throughout the year except a few special occasions. It is unwise to invest a good part of the budget to build underutilised spaces”. 

Description and image captions from Aga Khan Trust, 2016 On-Site Review Report by Nondita Correa, quotations from Marianan Tabassum, in conversation with Rowena Hockin.

This document is embedded in …

… (related posts)