Modern architecture in ancient Istanbul. Marmara University Faculty of Theology Mosque
There are countless mosques located on the territory of Istanbul, Turkey. Some of them were built hundreds of years ago, while others appeared only recently. We would like to tell you about one modern construction, the Marmara University Faculty of Theology Mosque. Despite the young age of the building, sure it will be of interest to all connoisseurs of unusual architecture.
The iconic structure was built on the site of an earlier mosque that had been present here for thirty years. The reason for the radical rebuilding of the previous building was its non-compliance with seismic resistance requirements.
Construction of the modern mosque was carried out from 2012-2015, and the complex was inaugurated by President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The architect behind the mosque project was Hilmi Şenalp, who had worked on other religious buildings before.
Despite its modest size, the building can accommodate 4300 people. The complex includes not only the visible parts above ground, but also lecture halls, exhibition rooms, a library, and a cafe located beneath the mosque. Drawings of the building can be found online, revealing that the underground section dwarfs the size of the main prayer hall.
The mosque minarets soar over 50 meters high, and the dome rises above the ground by nearly 35 meters. The structure is made of steel, with approximately 500 tons of alloy used in the construction phase.
The building looks modern and remarkable from both the outside and inside. The walls of the main prayer hall are composed of glass archways with intricate lattice work. This design allows natural light to illuminate the building even on cloudy days. Sunrays penetrate the structure through the apex of the dome, which is itself a work of art and looks simply fantastic.
The Hassa Architects designed this mosque with a sense of tradition and used a lot of fractured geometry which is crucial to Islamic art. Modern construction techniques let us build the most intricate designs with ease. The motifs that are inspired by natural forms were transferred to steel, glass and glass fiber reinforced concrete in 3D.
The mosque is on the university’s Bağlarbaşı campus on the Asian side of İstanbul and sits on 30.000 square meters of area. It can house 5.000 people. It was planned as a social attraction center with classrooms, conference rooms, exhibition areas, theatre rooms and cafes.
This mosque is the first steel mosque in the country. Its steel structure sits on a decahedral cement base.
“The motifs that are inspired by natural forms were transferred to steel, glass and glassfiber reinforced concrete in 3D.”
One of the most attractive elements is the 1000 year old traditional wooden bridge wing which was constructed with steel, glass and GRC / GFRC this time. The central dome has a diameter of 35 meters and this 35 meter high central dome rests on twelve steel carriers.
There were also used for the Turkish triangle forms that tied the columns to the dome. The stepped helix structure was placed on the steel ridge ribs sat on the main steel beam. Each one of the materials used to dress the helix formed dome was prepared with specially constructed moulds. The geometry that was constructed by 22 different planes that were placed on top of each other comprises panels the sizes of which are between 7.84 and 3.81 meters.
The side windows of the mosque are reminiscent of Anatolian Seljuk architecture and the sunlight screens brought the inner and outer spaces together. The sunlight screens were carried over a special system of 7.39×7.57 meters of distance and were connected to the main steel construction. The same system was repeated at the mosque porticos. The carrier steel frames were hidden behind the sunlight screen panels and created the impression that the structure was hanging in the air.
