Islamic design was focused around the teachings and ways of Mohammed. The style spread drastically over several regions in Africa, Europe, and Asia. What is most unique about this style is that there was a great variety depending upon the region in which is was found in it. Mohammed's farm was the first prototype for the Mosque, the Islamic's religious house of worship. The main features of a mosque were the perimeter wall, covered hall of columns, and a courtyard. Mosques' initial purposes were to come and pray for Allah.
One variation of Islamic design was Persian architecture. In Istanbul, Turkey, which was originally Constantinople, stands the Mosque of Sultan Ahmed. Constructed between 1609 and 1617, this structure also known as the "Blue Mosque," has a single main dome, six minarets, and eight secondary domes. The patterns found through this mosque originated from textiles. There are over 20,000 handmade tiles, 200 stained glass windows, and over fifty different tulip designs. Geometric and non-representational dominates the decor design.
In Delhi, India the Taj Mahal is the prime example of Islamic design in the region. The Muslims established Delhi as the Islamic capitol in the early twelfth century, so its location was more than appropriate. The ruler of this time was Mughal and he had a significant influence over the building initiatives including residential and secular buildings. The structure was completed in sixteen years between 1632-1648 C.E. as a resting place for his wife. It is one of the most iconic buildings and its highly recognized for white dome marble mausoleum. What isn't well known is that it wasn't built of solid marble, but in fact brick with a marble veneer.
Spain's Islamic design was a fusion between European and Islamic design practices. The Great Mosque of Cordoba reflects the design styles of this region. It used a hypostyle form of architecture.An even more renowned display of Islamic design is the Alhambra Palace. This large palace and fortress displays horseshoe arches, ogival arches, muqarnas-filled niches, and muqarnas domes. It was designed by Ahmar between 1250-1360 C.E.
Current Applications:
This first blog that I read was Cally's. Her blog was extremely well organized. I like how she broke down all the different areas and elaborated on them. The modern examples were phenomenal, especially the one with the Star of David design.
The next blog I read was Miryam's. She focuses more on the architectural components in her blog which is apparent in her current design applications.
Additional Links!
This video is a collaborative slide show of various Islamic architectural design applications.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv6NSjbrY6Q
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