THE ICONIC MOSQUE
Location: Dubai, UAE
Type: Competition
Author: Radionica arhitekture
Design team: Antonio Jakubek, Goran Rako, Josip Sabolić, Dunja Sloković
Designed: 2018
Area: 10.600 m2


The Iconic Mosque is located west of the Dubai Creek Tower in a green linear park which leads from the tower to the waterfront. While the tower is shaped like a flower striving to heaven, the Iconic Mosque has more earthly character. It does not want to compete with the tower. The Iconic Mosque is an introverted place, a place where we turn to the spiritual world in which we are temporarily excluded from the material world. We see it as an oasis within the city. The building emphasizes uniqueness of this microcosm in space and time. The wall which surrounds the garden of the Iconic Mosque separates it from the environment. But the wall is also opened and four doors invite us to gather in the yard. The plan of the garden is a part of orthogonal urbanism. The prayer hall of the mosque hovers above the garden, separated from the Earth and makes gravity relative for a moment. Wall openings face Mecca and the sky, letting daylight in. The prayer hall does not follow the orthogonal rule, it is above urbanistic rules. A floral motif carpet covers the floor, the walls are clad in marble. Auxiliary and service spaces are in the walls that surround the garden. The stairways and elevators take us to the prayer hall or the balcony. We confront traditional and contemporary elements, traditional and contemporary materials, traditional and contemporary technologies in order to reconcile them. Our design is simple because our intention is clear. By using common and everyday elements we create an ethereal and sacred place.