Saturday, May 19, 2012

The Al Irsyad Mosque at Kota Baru Parahiyangan



This is the mihrab of the Al Irsyad Mosque at Kota Baru Parahiyangan in the west of Bandung. Instead of the traditional niche in the wall facing the direction of the Kaaba in the direction Mecca, this mosque's mihrab has the shape of an open "tunnel" with a pond surrounding a pulpit in its center. At the other end of the tunnel, there is a globe with an inscription of Allah in Arabic.

This is what the mihrab looks like from the other end of the tunnel.

 

The Al Irsyad was completed and dedicated in 2010 and was declared one of the "Building of The Year 2010"  in the religious architecture category by the National Frame Building Association. The mosque was designed by Ridwan Kamil, an Indonesian top architect living in Bandung.

3 comments:

Dina said...

This is so different from any mosque I have ever seen! (not that I have seen that many mosques ...)
I wonder, was there any criticism at first, or did people like it a lot?
It seems more inspiring than looking at a stone wall.

Eki said...

Dina,
I didn't know of any criticism when it was build. I suppose there weren't any, otherwise I would have read it in the newspaper. A lot of people like it actually. There are people from far away places who go there just to see it.

Dina said...

Thanks Eki. I am glad to hear that.