Rayhanat Al Samaa Mosque

Al Baath University

Project idea

Rayhanat Al Samaa Mosque (Flower of Heaven).

In the architecture of mosques, there is an obligatory orientation, whereby the mosque must be directed in the direction of the qiblah (The holy Kaaba). This was a challenge, as I wanted to transform the building outer shell into an ecosystem that takes into account the direction of the prevailing winds in the city of Dammam. And of course there is the general environmental orientation for the building. In addition to a challenge that lies in quoting from famous elements in Arab and Islamic architecture and formulating them within a work characterized by modern dynamism.
The Arab Islamic architecture has formal features that distinguish it such as arches, mashrabiyas, domes, and many other formal elements, but what distinguishes it in reality is the environmental use of these elements (Windcatchers- domes - mashrabiyas - internal courtyards - corridors - water elements) and as I said, the most important goal was to derive and use those formal features and environmental elements In a modern view.
The outer Shell of the building was transformed into a windcather system (to achieve natural ventilation and cooling the internal environment), where the first windcatcher consist of two ventilation ducts, and the minaret was used in turn as a windcatcher , so there were three air ducts that reach the base of the dome, which is complementary to the work of the windcatchersystem, from Where its role is the occurrence of atmospheric pressure differences between its base and its peak.
Arches were used and the minaret was preserved as a distinctive feature of mosque architecture, in addition to the use of mashrabiyas to cover the external openings to achieve shading and reduce the light glare .
The movement of rotation from the old classic to the modern appears in the design of the mosque, and this is something intended by me, as the Qiblah facade preserves the identity of the traditional mosque, and with the rotation around the architectural mass and the flow of lines, a transition to modernity.
In the interior design: the directives of mosques were taken into account, as it is not possible in mosques to direct the toilets towards the honorable qiblah, and the movement paths of mosques were taken into account (there is a path from entering the worshiper and directing him to the place of ablution and entering the prayer hall).

Beside the main mass of the mosque , the site also contains two houses, one for the Muezzin and one for the Imam, where the two houses were designed in a way that suits the lines of the site and the main mass, and privacy was created for these houses through their openness to the interior by designing a patio for each house and adding a roof openings.

The general concept of the site lines is designed in the form of veins and leaves that following the dynamic rotation of the mosque mass.

Project description

The mosque was designed to participate in Retal Mosque Design Competition Which affiliated to Abdullatif Fozan Award for Mosque Architecture. Where the site which the project is to be built is located in Nesaj Town 2 - Dammam, KSA.

On the ground floor: The women’s entrance is separated from the men’s entrance. The women’s entrance leads to a hall and from there through a ramp at an angle of 13 degrees inclination is taken to an upper floor, and elevators have been installed. The upper floor is designed on a system of theaters so that the female chapels are in semi– direct contact with the imam.
As for the men’s entrance, it leads to a large hall that fits the large number of worshipers in relation to the number of chapels. In order to add an
aesthetic aspect and create an atmosphere of comfort and tranquility for the worshiper, a fountain was made for ablution, but for emergencies when any malfunction occurred, another traditional corner for ablution was made. Both floors are provided with a quick emergency exit.

The two residences of the imam and the muezzin were separated from the main mosque building, and they were connected to the site of the project land in a smoothly way that ensures easy access for both the muezzin and the imam to the mosque. And easy access for them and their families to their homes as well.The two houses were inspired by the same general concept, each with an area of 180 square meters without the carved garden, which amounts to 60 square meters to ensure the comfort of the occupants and the openness of the house to nature while maintaining absolute privacy. Openings and windows were made in the house on the courtyard (garden). And roof windows in addition to external windows, but they were shaded with mashrabiyas of the same style as the mashrabiyas used in the dome.Since the two houses are open to a courtyard, there is freedom to rotate the model of the house in an aesthetically appropriate way with the project site. Taking into account the deviation of the bathrooms from the direction of the qiblah. It must be mentioned that the courtyard is one of the environmental elements in architecture.

Technical information

Site Area : 3530 sqm.
Mosque Buildup Area: 1780 sqm.
No. of male prayers : 450 pers.
No. of female prayers: 90 pers.
Muezzin house : 200 sqm.
Imam House : 200 sqm.