Wrap it, wrap it up like a Burito! #conclusion

hello peeps! Probably the last time i would ever say this as this is my last post on this blog. Sigh time does fly doesn't it? Still remember when I was first given this task I was pretty clueless and slightly sad? I enjoy blogging as my hobby but what?! they're turning my hobby into a homework?! no way :( but after weeks and weeks of blogging I actually did enjoy it although i had to crack my head up for for relevant opinion and minimum 4 to 5 hours of researching every single time but well i do gain a lot of knowledge through blogging so i guess it's all worth it! Back to main topic, today i'm going to make a conclusion about my topic which is ''What identifies a religious building?'' according to the research and opinion I've given from the previous posts, i'll be refreshing your memory and summarize everything. soooooo let's start!

I've done two case studies which are Chartres Cathedral and Taj Mahal. In both of these case studies, I've came to a conclusion where both of these religious buildings have significant respective symbolic identities, appearance wise and ornamentation wise. Since Taj Mahal and Chartres Cathedral aren't something that have been built in recent year but instead they're considered as the ancient buildings so do future religious buildings be of neutral design, does not conform to any religious identity or characteristics or should it uphold its tradition appearance with symbolic identities? In my opinion, YES, religious buildings should definitely remain its tradition appearance with symbolic identities. 

Why? This is because when we think of religion it naturally links to tradition. Religious building is a place for sincere prayers and a place to seek connection with God. Imagine an ordinary building with absolutely no hint of any religious identities, what's the point? Religion is something that has been passed down by our ancestors since the ancient times, a symbolic identity or icon is like the essence of the history of a religion. Furthermore, people these days deeply rely on visualization more than anything, word is no longer the main method of communication.The beautiful ornamentation on the inside or the outside of religious buildings are crucial since human are naturally drawn to good design. One will be able to feel the connection with God through it, mosaic that depicts God or calligraphy, arabesque on the inside of outside of the building, they're important. Religion has always been a sensitive topic, wars have been triggered because of religion. Extremist easily take opposite religious building as a target to attack. Some may thought that if we were able to unify and take away the religious symbolic icon and remain neutral design, it would be better but no, religious identities act as an unifying force among the believers, if it were to be taken away, faith might be weaken. 

One can't just simply use the word ''modernize'' as an excuse to take away the symbolic identities of a religious building. But the world is changing rapidly, we can't possibly just remain where we are, we have to keep up the pace in case we would get left behind, it applies to religious building too. To avoid being eliminated or being look down for not being able to catch up with the world. Change is essential. It would be a hard task for architects to design a modern religious building as it involve specific challenges as the religion were created and established centuries ago and it could easily trigger dissatisfaction among believers. So my solution would be, combine both modern and tradition. Keep the traditions but modernize it, be it the change of material or position or ornamentation. Architects can design a religious building with a modernize appearance but an eye-catching position or sizes of religious identities for the exterior. A good example would be Frøyland Og Orstad Kyrkje.

Frøyland Og Orstad Kyrkje.

(Krase, n.d.).

''Church along an axial path and a guideline with custom-made concrete tiles depicting biblical quotes'' (Krase, n.d.) See? the placement of the significant ornamentation is changed but people is still be able to acknowledge it. Design a religious building that can easily be recognized as a religious building. The crosscut that represents Christian is very obvious, people can definitely tell that it's a church just by a glance.

For the interior, i would suggest to remain the tradition with all the stunning ornamentation, a religious building shouldn't just be hollowed ambient space purely for prayer and reflections. Religious building serves a total different meaning and purpose compared to other structures, it often evoke a mystical feeling. Modernize exterior with a twist in the interior, preserving the traditions but not being left behind. To conclude it, both interior or exterior of a religious building should never be neutral design regardless anything. Religious building's main purpose is for believers to worship God, the ornamentation and symbolic icon are one of the easiest ways for believers to feel the connection with God, it should never ever be considered to be taken away and that's my two cents. What about yours?

References:

Krase, H. (n.d.). Frøyland Orstad Church. [online] Linkarkitektur.com. Available at: http://linkarkitektur.com/en/Projects/Froeyland-Orstad-Church [Accessed 25 Jun. 2016].

Image Resources :

Kruse, H. (n.d.). Frøyland Orstad Church. [image] Available at: http://linkarkitektur.com/en/Projects/Froeyland-Orstad-Church [Accessed 25 Jun. 2016].

More about Chatres Cathedral!

Hello guys!! Welcome back to my blog, mixed feelings going around now since this will be my second last post, but actually technically this is supposed to be my last post but i miscalculated a little so one more extra entry later! I'll be talking about the interior of Chartres Cathedral today and for my extra blog post i will be wrapping things up and give you guys more in depth of what I think of what define a religious building! So stay tuned. <3

Still remember how Chartres Cathedral looks like from the outside? Let's rewind a little.  Chartres Cathedral is recognized as one of the three masterpieces of the French Gothic style alongside the cathedrals of Amiens and Reims (Lewis, 2008). Chartres Cathedral is known for its windows, which are regarded as the most harmonious and vivacious collections of stained glass ever assembled. Chartres Cathedral consists of flying buttresses to resist the stress of the vaults and arches. Moreover, the cathedral is known for its two contrasting spires, south and north tower. Chartres Cathedral also has a cycle of sculpture in the portals.

(Chartres Cathedral Historical Facts and Pictures, 2014)

Inside Chartres Cathedral, the internal space is breathtaking, the Gothic vault uses pointed arches, this makes the space lighter with more defined thrusts, combined with flying buttresses, the construction is able to carry a great deal of weight, including the stained glasses. The unbroken line of vision down the 128m long nave, from the western entrance through the wide choir to the rounded double ambulatory (Lewis, 2008).  ''The clustered columns run from the plain bases to the vault directing the eyes to the large stained class windows'' (Sacred-destinations.com, 2016).

(Williams, 2015)

Columns rise from the base to the high pointed vault.

(Best of Catholic Architecture, 2015)

Throughout the cathedral, it's filled with stained glass as it retains one of the most complete collections of medieval stained glass. The stained glass has this vivid colour splash and imitable cobalt blue colour this helps in adding the dimension of colour to the light into the cathedral. The stained glasses depict scenes from biblical history for example, the rose windows above the central entrance portal depicts the Last Judgement (French Moments, 2012). Rose windows are characteristic of the Gothic style. They are large circular wheel windows which was rare in the ancient times as it was new for them to be able to carve out a circular shape instead of their regular rigid rectangular stained glasses.

One of the Rose Windows of Chatres Cathedral.

(Bull, 2013)

(cathedral plans, and facts, 2016)

''The plan is cruciform, with a 92-foot-long nave and short transepts to the south and north. The east end is rounded, with five semi-circular chapels radiating from it'' (Newworldencyclopedia.org, 2013). As for the orientation one would realize cathedrals are not reliably oriented east-west, but variable.

The main altar usually are at the ‘eastern’ end, the prime public entrance is at the ‘west’, with side entrance at ‘north’ and ‘south’ (Abelard.org, 2013).

and....... that's it from me today, just a rough introduction of interior of Chartres Cathedral. I like how the cathedral exerts the mystical and holy vibe and apparently the architecture and ornamentation did a good job. On the other hand, Church of the Light by Tadao Ando is a great example of minimalist Church, Tadao Ando makes use of natural light he uses the cross cut in the concrete wall that allows penetration of sunlight to make one feels peace in the church. The contrary between Chatres Cathedral and Church of the Light are huge and obvious, so which do you prefer?

References :

Sacred-destinations.com. (2016). Chartres Cathedral - Chartres, France. [online] Available at: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/chartres-cathedral [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Newworldencyclopedia.org. (2013). Chartres Cathedral - New World Encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Chartres_Cathedral [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

French Moments. (2012). Chartres Cathedral - French Moments. [online] Available at: http://frenchmoments.eu/chartres-cathedral/ [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Abelard.org. (2013). cathedral plans, and facts | France zone at abelard.org. [online] Available at: http://www.abelard.org/france/cathedral_plans_facts.php [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Lewis, M. (2008). Architectura. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barrons Educational Series.

Image Sources :

Best of Catholic Architecture. (2015). [image] Available at: http://www.suscipedomine.com/forum/index.php?topic=9940.0 [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Bull, P. (2013). Another of THE Great Cathedrals?. [image] Available at: https://enthusiastical.wordpress.com/category/cathedral/page/2/ [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

cathedral plans, and facts. (2013). [image] Available at: http://www.abelard.org/france/cathedral_plans_facts.php [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Chartres Cathedral Historical Facts and Pictures. (2014). [image] Available at: http://www.thehistoryhub.com/chartres-cathedral-facts-pictures.htm [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Williams, M. (2015). Iconic Buildings: Chartres Cathedral. [image] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/blueprintforliving/iconic-buildings3a-chartres-cathedral/6642224 [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

More about Taj Mahal!

Hello peeps! It has been a week..............so as usual it's time for me to blog about my topic 'What identifies a religious building?'. In my previous posts, I've briefly talked about Islamic and Church Architectural and it acts as an introduction to my case studies which are Taj Mahal and Chatres Cathedral. If you're interested on my previous blog posts, please kindly scroll down! And as for today, I'll be talking about the interior of Taj Mahal. Without further ado, let's get onto it!

Still remember how Taj Mahal looks like from the outside? Let me refresh your memories. Taj Mahal is one of the prime examples of the integration of architecture and ornaments. The perfect symmetry of Taj Mahal makes clear the building's importance. Massive used of masonry walls contribute to an illusion as though it's made up of complete white stones. Taj Mahal's exterior is the combination of delicate proportions and ornament. So what about the inside? Let's dig deeper!

(Taj Mahal Agara HD Wallpapers, 2014). 

Inside the Taj Mahal, the inlay work is ''not pietra dura, a "painting" of colored stone, marble or jade but precious and semiprecious gemstones'' (En.wikiarquitectura.com, 2015). Every ornamentation of the tomb's interior has been redefined with jeweler's art since Taj Mahal is often called as the ''chamber is a work of jewellery'' (En.wikiarquitectura.com, 2015). Taj Mahal consists of eight halls and side rooms connected to the main space which is the central octagonal chamber that is covered by a doomed ceiling. This space houses a marble cenotaph ( an empty monument ) for Mumtaz and Shah Jahan (Lewis, 2008). These cenotaphs are purely for ceremony purpose, the marble cenotaphs are decorated with calligraphy and arabesque in colorful rare and semiprecious stones (Lewis, 2008).

 Muslim tradition forbids over-decorated graves, so the bodies of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan are laid in a plain chamber. This inspires me that maybe religious building like mosque may remain ornaments or symbolic stuff at certain area while the rest can just keep it simple, modern and sleek so that it wouldn't be left behind in this generation.  Religion has always been quite a sensitive topic around the world including Malaysia since long time ago, can architecture or interior design mitigates religious issues and resolve conflicts? Some may think that if we were able to cut out religious symbolic icon of every religions or unify all the appearance of religious buildings then maybe conflicts will not happen that often? Almost all of the religions teach us to be good, symbolic icons of respective religions may actually be a burden or a cause for the religious extremists to spend hatred against the other religions other than their own religions by destroying the other religions' religious buildings since with all the symbolic icons it's pretty apparent from outside what religion it is.  There are cases like these happening in the world. In my opinion, it's a huge no. Religion is something important that has been established since the ancient times, icon is like the essence of the history of a religion, it also acts as an unifying force among the believers. it will lose its significant if we were to take it away.

Opps, went a little too far, I'm going to show you the plan of Taj Mahal below now hehe

(Baumer, 2014)

The plan of Taj Mahal presents a ''muthamman baghdadi'' shape (large irregular octagon). Here a central, octagonal chamber becomes the axis for the whole.

Elevation of Taj Mahal

(Loui, 2013)

That's it from me today! See you guys soon mwah

References :

Lewis, M. (2008). Architectura. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barrons Educational Series.

En.wikiarquitectura.com. (2015). Taj Mahal - Architecture of the World - WikiArquitectura. [online] Available at: https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/index.php/Taj_Mahal [Accessed 17 Jun. 2016].

Image Sources :

Baumer, A. (2014). Islam Lesson 12: The Taj Mahal. [image] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/alanbaumer/islam-lesson-12-the-taj-mahal [Accessed 17 Jun. 2016].

Loui, M. (2013). Architecture of Iqtisad (Balance). [image] Available at: http://mabelloui-islamic-architecture.blogspot.my/2013/12/lecture-4-architecture-of-umayyad-of.html [Accessed 17 Jun. 2016].

Taj Mahal Agara HD Wallpapers. (2014). [image] Available at: http://findwallpapershd.com/taj-mahal/taj-mahal-agara-hd-wallpapers/ [Accessed 17 Jun. 2016].

Eastern VS Europe

Hey peeps! I'm back to blogging life again. I'm really exhausted these few days, homework starts to kick in, i need more sleep TT Anyway I've mentioned about the exterior of my Eastern country case study which is Taj Mahal and also my European country case study, Chartres Cathedral on my past few posts. One is built for the followers of Christianity while another is for Muslims, so is there actually any similarity in architecture form? I'm going to analyze more in depth and make comparison on the appearances of these two religious buildings. So let's get onto it!

First of all, religion art. The exterior of both Taj Mahal and Chartres Cathedral have obvious significant religious art on them. One of the main differences between Islamic and Christian art is the fact that Islam does not allowed any depiction of Allah. While on the other hand, Christianity literally narrates the stories from the Bible through statues, sculptures or even on the stained glass. Remember my last post? Chartres Cathedral was decorated with lots and lots of door jambs which illustrated the Christ's important stages of life and also the magnificent medieval stained glass. The reason of why religion arts were so prevalent in the ancient times might be due to the fact that there was many illiterate at that time or perhaps there was an artistic period where artists emerged and painting, stone carving, sculpture shaping were common. Moreover, Islamic structures are usually decorated with arabesque, calligraphy and geometric art. Most of the time it depicts the Koran, it can be found on almost everywhere and is spread throughout of an Islamic structures and Taj Mahal is a great example. Both of the Eastern and European countries' religious buildings are highly ornamented.

Sculptures that can be seen at Chatres Cathedral

(Sunshine, 2012)

Calligraphy on the exterior of Taj Mahal.
(Taj Mahal, 2016)

Moving on, the structure of both religious buildings. Both religious buildings are tall with points expecting to reach to the sky. Islamic architecture often uses a rounded arch with a point at the top of every arch. Remember the top of Taj Mahal? The top of the dome is decorated with a lotus design. According to Anis, my Muslim friend, Mosque originally meant to remind one of where Muhammad (said to be the last prophet) stood while preaching about the religion. The use of inexpensive materials like wood and clay were used in the ancient times was due to a restriction that was imposed by Muhammed. Moreover, the stained windows in a cathedral tend to make the space looks darker as it won't allow much natural light to penetrate in. Not sure why is it so but it might be due to the influences of Gothic style. Since the word ''Gothic'' always naturally associated with dark spaces. You may realize that there might be a demand for every cathedrals or churches to be designed in Gothic style in the ancient times. Take Chatres Cathedral as an example, Gothic cathedrals often used architectural elements such as high vaults,flying buttresses and stone roof.

Exterior of Taj Mahal

(Sindia,2014)

Exterior of Chartres Cathedral.

(Miou Miou 362190)

Dark interior of Chartres Cathedral.

(Fleturis, 2016)

To wrap it up, both the exterior religious buildings from Eastern and European countries widely apply respective religious art on their buildings but with one depicts God while another doesn't. Moreover, one of the similarities between those two are the fact that they use pointed arch. It may be due to the fact that arch was an ''essential element'' of the architecture of early civilizations. That's it from me today! Hope you guys enjoyed!


Image Resources :

SIndia. (2014). [image] Available at: http://www.tourpackagesforrajasthan.com/gallery/gallery.html [Accessed 13 Jun. 2016].

Fleturis, H. (2016). France's Most Beautiful Stained-Glass Windows. [image] Available at: http://theculturetrip.com/europe/france/articles/frances-most-beautiful-stained-glass-windows/ [Accessed 13 Jun. 2016]

Fleturis, H. (2016). France's Most Beautiful Stained-Glass Windows. [image] Available at: http://theculturetrip.com/europe/france/articles/frances-most-beautiful-stained-glass-windows/ [Accessed 13 Jun. 2016].

Taj Mahal. (2016). [image] Available at: http://www.unknownworld.co/taj-mahal/ [Accessed 13 Jun. 2016].

Exterior of Case Studies 2, Chatres Cathedral!

Hola guys~~~~ It has been a week since I last posted so here i am again! On the previous post of mine, I've started mentioning about my first case study which is the remarkable Taj Mahal. I roughly talked about its background and the exterior and I'm going to do the same today but with a completely different case study which is... *drum rolls* the Chartres Cathedral!

Chartres Cathedral is also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, it's considered as the finest monument of Gothic architectures (Lewis, 2008). Chartres Cathedral is famous for having the most astonishing medieval stained glass in the world and for its quality of religious stone carving sculpture (Lewis,2008). Extraordinary harmony between the medieval stained glass, religious sculpture and architecture makes it the pilgrimage destination for many. It's a great mix on adding religious element into architecture. Plus point! It's in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site (French Moments, 2012).

(Pierre, 2013)

The asymmetrical spires (also known as the North and South tower) on either side of the facade catches my attention. Churches were usually designed in Gothic style back then. They look different from each other because there was a fire that burned down almost everything in the town and part of Chartres Cathedral. Current facade of Chartres Cathedral was built immediately after the fire, starting with the North Tower then the South Tower, 300+ years of gap in between the construction of the towers and it shows the evolution of architecture style and way of constructing (Lewis, 2008).

Towers with different appearance, one is rather pointy, has very strong Gothic vibes and less decorative while the other one looks rather spectacular and more decorative + taller too!

(Clement, 2015)

Take into a closer look, you'll see the royal portal.

(Chartres Cathedral North Facade, 2015)

These three portals are the oldest portal of Chartres Cathedral, it's surrounded and decorated by sculptures (French Moments, 2012). These sculptures on the respective portals depict Christ's Earthly life, Last Judgement and Ascension of Christ (From right to left).

Moving on, from the exterior of Chartres Cathedral, you'll see the flying buttresses. The reason of having it is to keep church from getting damaged by fire again, people who were in charge decided to use stone roof rather than a wooden one, for the sake of fire resistance. But stone roof was way too heavy so the builders decided to use four-part vault for roof instead of the commonly-used six-part vault. To further more distribute the weight of stained glasses and heavy and high roof, the builder decided to use flying buttresses, which act as a support on the outsides of Chartres Cathedral (Lewis, 2008).

Flying buttresses outside of Chartres Cathedral.

(Entrena, 2012)

In my opinion, the use of flying buttresses last time was brilliant. It created support for the high vault (commonly seen in Gothic architecture) and medieval stained glass which depicts the Christ. Moving on, the differences on the appearance of north and south tower seriously shown us the evolution of architecture at a glance. The south tower was more plain and austere while the north tower was decorative and looked a lot more stunning and eye-catching. It proves us that decorative elements do actually do a great job on grabbing one's attention. Looking at the sacred interior architecture industry these days, it actually leans toward modern style which is rather clean and sleek, people don't use much ornaments in this generation. The obvious contrast on interior and architecture between now and last time is very apparent. It makes me wonder if the reaction when we look at an ancient old religious building with stunning ornaments and how the coming generation going to look at our clean and less ornament religious buildings right now will it be the same? Still as breath-taking or not?

That's it from me today! I hope you guys enjoyed, have a great day ahead! xoxo


References :

French Moments. (2012). Chartres Cathedral - French Moments. [online] Available at: http://frenchmoments.eu/chartres-cathedral/ [Accessed 12 Jun. 2016].

Lewis, M. (2008). Architectura. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barrons Educational Series.

Image Sources :

Chartres Cathedral North Facade. (2015). [image] Available at: http://pulalohome.com/chartres-cathedral-north-facade/ [Accessed 12 Jun. 2016].

Clement, M. (2015). Chartres Part III. [image] Available at: http://michaelclementphotography.blogspot.my/2015/07/chartres-part-iii.html [Accessed 12 Jun. 2016].

Entrena, C. (2012). la catedral y los edificios civiles. [image] Available at: http://historiadelartecbe.blogspot.my/2012/01/la-catedral-y-los-edificios-civiles.html [Accessed 12 Jun. 2016].

Pierre, (2013). Façade of Chartres Cathedral. [image] Available at: http://frenchmoments.eu/chartres-cathedral/screen-shot-2013-01-13-at-11-22-25-am/ [Accessed 12 Jun. 2016].

Exterior of Case Studies 1, Taj Mahal!

Helloooo guys! Welcome back to my blog or if you're a new visitor.... HELLO there, welcome to my blog. In my previous posts I've mentioned about modern and early Church Architecture and Islamic Architecture so if you're interested please kindly scroll down! Well today, I'm going to start talking about the religious buildings that I've chosen from Eastern country and European country, which are Taj Mahal in India and Chartres Cathedral in France. I will be studying about these two religious buildings and analyze them in different perspectives.

The reason why I chose Taj Mahal as one my case studies is because it's arguably one of the most spectacular man-made structure in the world, it's said to be the prime example of integration of architecture and ornament (Lewis, 2008). Moreover, it's one of the seven wonders of the world too. The background of Taj Mahal adds a soul to its beauty. Taj Mahal is commissioned by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum ( a huge tomb) to commemorate his wife, Mumtaz Mahal who died after giving birth to his fourteenth child (Lewis, 2008).

Taj Mahal is considered by many to be the one of the perfect examples of Mughal architecture, it incorporates and expands on many design traditions including Hindu, Persian, and earlier Mughal architecture (Newworldencyclopedia.org, 2015). Despite its huge size, Taj Mahal is very well-proportioned and looks identically symmetrical. The four minarets are purely decorative, having no practical purpose at all (Lewis,2008). The white marble mausoleum is the most eye-catching part of this huge tomb, the sparking facades of the Taj Mahal make clear the building's significance. Though it appears to be white from a distance, ''it is clad in white marble from India's Makran region--but a closer look reveals colored stone inlay'' (Lewis, 2008). Moreover, speaking of Taj Mahal, you will never missed out the rectangular reflecting pool that leads the eye to the central dome. The dome is often called an onion dome (also called an amrud or guava dome).The reflection of Taj Mahal on the pool makes it looks twice magnificent.

Taj Mahal

(Taj Mahal Agara HD Wallpapers, 2014)

The top of the dome is decorated with a lotus design. 

(Show do CoV ao vivo nos 367 anos do Taj Mahal, 2016)

Taj Mahal is a centerpiece of entrance court, a gateway, a mosque, a guesthouse, and formal gardens with a reflecting pool (Lewis, 2008). Arabesque, geometric and calligraphic designs adorn the complex's flooring both exterior and interior. Taj Mahal is covered with intricate carvings, inlays and paint or stucco (Newworldencyclopedia.org, 2015). But most of the surface ornamentation is arabesque, this is because floral embroidered cloth was Mumtaz's favorite (Lewis, 2008). ''The abundance of usage of arabesque is contrasted by the white and black panels of calligraphy passages are thematically related quotations from the Koran--that were also extensively used as a design motif'' (Lewis, 2008). 

Close up look of Taj Mahal

(Safed, 2013)

Taj Mahal does not only leave a mark in history for being one of the most significant architectures in the history but it's also a great example of using the iconic Islamic identities as an element to unfold the building's spiritual essence. Taj Mahal accompanied by the garden full with greens and the pool that reflect the perfect symmetric structure and art details is a great combination of nature and man-made structure. Architects or future me as an interior architect should totally integrate these two more often as it definitely makes the man-made structure stands out even more. And.. that's it from me today! Hope you guys enjoyed! 

References :

Lewis, M. (2008). Architectura. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barrons Educational Series.

Newworldencyclopedia.org. (2015). Taj Mahal - New World Encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Taj_Mahal [Accessed 7 Jun. 2016].


Image Resources :

Safed, R. (2013). Delhi and Agra: Mughal Capitals, the Taj Mahal, and the India We Expected. [image] Available at: https://rohisafed.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/delhi-and-agra-mughal-capitals-the-taj-mahal-and-the-india-we-expected/ [Accessed 7 Jun. 2016].

Show do CoV ao vivo nos 367 anos do Taj Mahal. (2016). [image] Available at: http://cavalgandoovento.blogspot.my/2015/06/cov-ao-vivo-nos-367-anos-do-taj-mahal.html [Accessed 7 Jun. 2016].

Taj Mahal Agara HD Wallpapers. (2014). [image] Available at: http://findwallpapershd.com/taj-mahal/taj-mahal-agara-hd-wallpapers/ [Accessed 7 Jun. 2016].

More on Islamic Architecture!

Hello peeps! Today is quite a gloomy day for me, I've tried finding for information regarding Modern Islamic Architecture but to my surprise there's quite little information about it as most of the Islamic Architecture still remain its signature and traditional look, which is designed in magnificent themes of Byzantine mosaic and domed roof or at least, they're associated with conservative styles employing well-recognized geometric, arabesque and calligraphic shapes and form which are the traditional identities of Islamic Architecture. There's still a lot of ornamentation still though the construction method or material used may have changed. In my opinion, the fact that architects have to design a mosque involve specific challenges as the Islamic identities were created and established centuries ago and remain as the foremost principle in creating a place of worship for Muslims is extremely impressive.

As I've mentioned early, there's limited information regarding Modern Islamic Architecture, so I decided to put my two cents worth in how and why Islamic Architecture still able to remain its traditional icons and yet does not look eccentric at all among all the modern architectures in this generation. First of all, the idea of a mosque in its commonly known shape, dome, if it were to change to another form it would be widely unacceptable and refused, in some cases forbidden, and on the other part, there's no sign of tolerance from Muslims as they have propensity to insist on a certain idea of mosques that are traditional but purely symbolic.

Actually, I wouldn't say that Islamic Architecture purely remain in its traditional form but instead it still keeps up with the modern times while embracing its unique identity. Islamic architecture always wander between both traditional and modern, It always has the tendency to lean towards tradition in mosque design even up till today. Moreover, the trend of architecture commonly derived from tradition but yet being modernized. It can be seen in not only in architecture but also in fashion. People these days seek to feel connected to their past. This is why retro and vintage fashions are so trendy in recent years. In this era of rapid change, icons and visual are replacing words as the main method of communication. Our generation is deeply dependent on visual and that's when the iconic Islamic geometric, arabesque and calligraphic shapes play a huge part. It makes the followers of Islam feel the holiness and the connection with Allah. The symbolism of Islam has been long rooted in the heart of followers of Islam, it can't simply be taken away and yeah that's my two cents on this topic!

Oh by the way! As my lecturers thought it's better for us to grab on a real book and study, we're encouraged to do our research with books instead of online articles and journals. To be honest, it's pretty difficult to do so since our days are pretty packed up, having to go to library and search through books that might be related to our respective topics......it's difficult. But well, it definitely does good to us, so why not? Next post onward, I'm going to jump straight to my main topic which is 'What identifies a religious building?'. We're encouraged to choose a religious building from Eastern country and another from European country and discuss the relationship between the appearance of the building and its spatial quality. So...... stay tuned!

Masjid Sultan Hassanal in Phillipines completed in 2011.

(Masjid Sultan Hassanal, 2013)

Al-Saleh Mosque, Sana'a,Yemen, completed in 2008.

(Ten of the most beautiful mosques in MENA, 2016)

Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab Mosque competed in 2011.

(Ramp of State Mosque (Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab Mosque)

Bahria Grand Jamia Mosque in Pakistan, completed in 2014.
(Bahria Grand Jamia Mosque, Lahore , Pakistan, 2015)

Image Sources :

Bahria Grand Jamia Mosque, Lahore , Pakistan. (2015). [image] Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/Travel_HD/comments/3n7o11/bahria_grand_jamia_mosque_lahore_pakistan/ [Accessed 6 Jun. 2016].

Masjid Sultan Hassanal. (2013). [image] Available at: http://islam.pictures/tag/masjid-sultan-hassanal/ [Accessed 6 Jun. 2016].

Ramp of State Mosque (Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab Mosque). (2014). [image] Available at: http://www.asergeev.com/pictures/archives/compress/2014/1378/15.htm [Accessed 6 Jun. 2016].

Ten of the most beautiful mosques in MENA. (2016). [image] Available at: https://www.thebig5hub.com/galleries/ten-of-the-most-beautiful-mosques-in-mena/ [Accessed 6 Jun. 2016].

Early Islamic Architecture

Hi guys, it's only been a day but here i am again~~~ Todayyy.............I'm going to talk about Early Islamic Architecture. I'm pretty sure all of you are pretty familiar with Islamic Architecture if you guys are Malaysians as Malaysia's primary religion is Islam. Without further ado let's get into it!

Islam spread rapidly after its founding, encompassing legions of areas including North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The religious building for Islam is known as mosques, where Muslims worship Allah, are among the most important examples of Islamic Architecture. Other kinds of religious buildings include madrasahs, or religious schools; tombs; and palaces (Bosch, n.d.).  Mosque has always act a religious and social occasion for the Islam community.Muslims are required to have five daily prayers prescribed in Islam, it can be at home or literally anywhere but all men are obligated to gather at the nearest mosque for the Friday midday prayer to provide a platform for pronouncements.

''The first mosques were simple buildings made of wood and clay. Then, as the world of Islam grew in size and power, large mosques of cut stone and brick were built. Because no Islamic building tradition yet existed, these early mosques were modeled after Christian churches'' (Bosch, n.d.). The use of inexpensive materials like wood and clay were used in the ancient times was due to a restriction that was imposed by Muhammed,  the prophet of Islam. The earliest significant example of Muslim Architecture,The Dome of the Rock designed in stunning themes of Byzantine mosaic and domed roof (Historyworld.net, n.d.). A dome has always act as a feature of Islamic Architecture.

A predominant characteristic of Islamic art is that it's forbidden to depict animals or human beings (Hardison, 2011). Restriction that had been imposed is the reason why Islamic art stands out. Islamic art developed by utilizing geometric, arabesque and calligraphic shapes and form (Ducksters.com, n.d.). It applies on the clothing which the believers wear when they perform prayers in the mosque. As what my Muslim friend, Husnaa told me that inside the mosque, the interior wall has calligraphy which shows the name of the prophets, Allah and Doas. It acts as a reminder for the believers to strengthen their faiths.

Arabesque Art

(Islamic patterns on Pinterest | Google Images, Islamic Art and Sacred Geometry, n.d.)

Geometric Art

(ART 13: February 2012, n.d.)

Calligraphy

(islamic calligraphy, n.d.)

Lastly, i'm going to show you some of the examples of Early Islamic Architecture, enjoy!

Exterior of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, UAE

(CBS World Tour 2015, 2015)

Interior of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the usage of dome design and integration of Islamic art can be seen in the picture above. 

(Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, n.d.)

Exterior of Taj Mahal, it looks identically symmetrical. The reflecting pool might be a cooling feature as the weather in India is hot.

(Fonds d'écran Taj Mahal, n.d.)

Interior of Taj Mahal

(File:Interior of the Taj Mahal 05.jpg, n.d.)

Well #shameless........I'm going to end this post with my Taj Mahal drawing. Thanks for reading, great day ahead people!

Reference:

Bosch, G. (n.d.). Islamic Art and Architecture | Scholastic ART | Scholastic.com. [online] Scholastic.com. Available at: http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3753881 [Accessed 1 Jun. 2016].

Hardison, K. (2011). What are some characteristics of Islamic art and architecture? | eNotes. [online] eNotes. Available at: http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-some-characteristics-islamic-art-archite-401579 [Accessed 1 Jun. 2016].

Historyworld.net. (n.d.). HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE. [online] Available at: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=ebb [Accessed 1 Jun. 2016].

Ducksters.com. (n.d.). History of the Early Islamic World for Kids: Architecture. [online] Available at: http://www.ducksters.com/history/islam/architecture.php [Accessed 1 Jun. 2016].

Image Resources :

ART 13: February 2012. (n.d.). [image] Available at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS04CqPsEmYE_1CqXOsS8FgiXoaQ05meW_Pj0Tm2fnvYs9kNcH31FUH27zrxdFtGvPyFZtEENptg8yU-5iDzInBC9CNE9ze5dDT9lKl37PKCRyB4l5_3-V24OwHfNPJaTM9NuGLzqYTsI-/s1600/starpolygon3.jpg [Accessed 1 Jun. 2016].

CBS World Tour 2015. (2015). [image] Available at: http://cbsworldtour2015.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/UAE-Grand-Mosque.jpg [Accessed 1 Jun. 2016].

File:Interior of the Taj Mahal 05.jpg. (n.d.). [image] Available at: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Interior_of_the_Taj_Mahal_05.jpg [Accessed 1 Jun. 2016].

Fonds d'écran Taj Mahal. (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://img1.svstatic.com/wallpapers/1c612246bf617d5100e4e2549a35f4eb_large.jpeg [Accessed 1 Jun. 2016].

islamic calligraphy. (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://islamic-arts.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/1.jpg [Accessed 1 Jun. 2016].

Islamic patterns on Pinterest | Google Images, Islamic Art and Sacred Geometry. (n.d.). [image] Available at: https://starsinsymmetry.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/aj3enycveq98cmuyjb.jpg [Accessed 1 Jun. 2016].

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://andypavlov.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/d9.jpg [Accessed 1 Jun. 2016].

Modern Church Architecture

Hey peepo i'm back! Today I'm going to talk about Modern Church Architecture since I've already mentioned about Early Church Architecture last week. As the world's architecture is rising with remarkable speed, Church Architecture has been influenced by the most recent architecture techniques which allow variation in style and size, or the use of other materials such as steel, concrete, glass and so on. Modern Church Architecture often focus more on the simple but basic ceremonial and liturgical requirements in the building (Smith, 2016). In the contrary, Early Church Architecture paid attention on the interior which was always lavishly decorated with stunning marbles and mosaic.

The apparent reduction of statuary,painting and traditional icons of Christianity can be seen in modern churches today. ''Sacred spaces are slowly moving out of the intricate baroque and Gothic details of traditional church architecture and into cleaner, brighter, more minimalist designs'' (Rogers, 2011). In my opinion, as I've mentioned in the previous post visualization is very important. How an architect designs a Church directly influences the Church's self-image. Symbolism is crucially important for a Church to communicate the liturgy that tell of how the sacraments take place. Though it's pretty much odd to remain the Gothic-looking or details of early Church these days, it's still important to concern Christianity's fundamental tradition identities for example choose wisely and preserve some of the iconic stuff that's passed down by our ancestors.

Lougesen ( 2013) mentioned that ''In Catholic Church Architecture, Tradition Shouldn’t Be Ignored'' (Lougesen, 2013). Which is indeed true. What's the purpose of having an ordinary building as a ''Church'' without all its symbolic icons and stuff? The lack of integration between Christianity and Architecture in this modern era is not a good sign. In my opinion, religion is always related to tradition, therefore, preserving tradition is significant. Churches should be ornamented and highly symbolic as it's a place for its believer to worship God and teeming with sincerity and spiritual feeling. By looking at the cross one will be instantly reminded by the crucifixion of Jesus as said by one of my Christian friends, Alicia. She gave her opinion on this topic which she thought that symbolic icons of Christianity are what make a church,a church. Outsiders or its believer should be able to tell if it's a church or not by simply a glance.

Now, in case you got bored out by words HEHE, I'm going to show you some of the examples of Modern Church Architecture .

Exterior of Foligno Concrete Church by Fuksas, Italy

(Church-Cube made of concrete, n.d.)

Interior of Foligno Concrete Church

(La Chiesa di San Paolo Apostolo by Giuseppe Peppoloni on 500px, n.d.)

Exterior of Paris Church of Santa Monica-Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain

(Santa Monica Church. Rivas-Urbanizaciones, designed by Vicens &amp; Ramos. Madrid, n.d.)

Interior of Paris Church of Santa Monica

(Parish Church of Santa Monica, n.d.)

Exterior of Sunset Chapel - Acapulco, Mexico

 (Sunset Chapel Acapulco, n.d.)

Interior of Sunset Chapel - Acapulco, Mexico

(Sunset Chapel, n.d.)

That's all for today! See you guys soon, xoxo.

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References :

Rogers, S. (2011). Modern Religion: 13 Contemporary Churches & Chapels. [online] WebUrbanist. Available at: http://weburbanist.com/2011/12/16/modern-religion-13-contemporary-churches-chapels/ [Accessed 31 May. 2016].

Smith, R. (2016). The Institute for Sacred Architecture | Articles| Don’t Blame Vatican II. [online] Sacredarchitecture.org. Available at: http://www.sacredarchitecture.org/articles/dont_blame_vatican_ii [Accessed 31 May. 2016].

Image Sources :

Church-Cube made of concrete. (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://architecture.mapolismagazin.com/sites/default/files/c_moreno_maggi_st_paolo_fuksas_011.jpg [Accessed 31 May. 2016].

La Chiesa di San Paolo Apostolo by Giuseppe Peppoloni on 500px. (n.d.). [image] Available at: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ff/96/56/ff9656f1663b5cacc8f5e7ec1205d9f0.jpg [Accessed 31 May. 2016].

Parish Church of Santa Monica. (n.d.). [image] Available at: https://karmatrendz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/parish_church_santa_monica_17.jpg [Accessed 31 May. 2016].

Santa Monica Church. Rivas-Urbanizaciones, designed by Vicens &amp; Ramos. Madrid. (n.d.). [image] Available at: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/cf/a5/a9/cfa5a9a246cc5f8d39f01fbd458bf58f.jpg [Accessed 31 May. 2016].

Sunset Chapel. (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://www.archello.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/media_image/ASC1697.jpg [Accessed 31 May. 2016].

Sunset Chapel Acapulco. (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://www.e-architect.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/acapulco-chapel-mexico-1.jpg [Accessed 31 May. 2016].