Natura July - August 2013 | Page 87

AA kesiti / Section AA BB kesiti / Section BB MİMAR / ARCHITECT: Bütüner Mimarlık YER / LOCATION: Gölbaşı, Ankara, Türkiye / Turkey YIL / YEAR: 2006 PROGRAM / PROGRAMME: Cami / Mosque MALZEMELER / MATERIALS: Taş, beton, cam / Stone, concrete, glass ALAN / AREA: 300 m2 TASARIM EKİBİ / DESIGN TEAM: Hüseyin Bütüner, Hilmi Güner, Deniz Esen vernacular architecture. The mosque consists of three major sections that reflect the main elements of the historic typology: a prayer hall stretched alongside the mihrab wall, a mihrab wall decorated with stained glass illuminating the prayer hall in parallel to classical Ottoman examples and an open space courtyard elevated from the ground level which refers to exterior prayer areas (namazgahs) that are widely seen in mosques constructed in rural areas. In this context, the design respects the traditional interior organization of mosque types in Turkey: a mihrab placed on the entrance axis, a minbar and a minaret designed to reflect present expectations of mosque features. The basic building elements of the Mogan Lake Mosque are the Andezit basalt clad walls on its east and west sides, a succession of concrete walls painted in white that define the entrance façade and the full glazing on the mihrab wall. The project is characterized by the extensive presence of Andezit basalt, so widely used in construction in the Ankara region that it is known as “Ankara stone”. It is locally sourced in the Gölbaşı district as the mosque is very close to the stone quarries and factories of the area. Processed, cut Andezit blocks were used for cladding the prayer hall’s walls while non-processed natural textured stones were used for the walls surrounding the courtyard. This difference in usage helped distinguish these perimeter walls with the walls of the mosque. These variations in stone treatment can also be seen in the greyish, pink-colored Andezit stone in the interior in the prayer hall. This masonry treatment was repeated on the exterior but with a more varied, multi-tone design of stone blocks. The main sparely designed prayer hall has no decorative elements and is instead characterized by its material treatment in the grey basalt and opaque glass wall in an airy rectangular space covered by 5 segmented vaults. This hall is placed on elevated ground surrounded by stone clad walls due to the natural slope inclined towards the lake. The mihrab wall becomes a ‘light wall’ illuminating the central prayer space. In the design, the mihrab wall was constructed by using vertical-structural glass panels with the only break being the mihrab niche in its concrete frame. The traditional elements of the mosque typology can be seen with this mihrab wall placed on the entrance axis, a functional wood minbar in the corner and a sculptural minaret in reinforced concrete that is in stark contrast to the minarets of historicist mosques. The ablution spaces, technical spaces and the imam’s quarters on the basement floor are illuminated by natural light due to the elevated ground floor. TEMMUZ - AĞUSTOS 2013 / JULY - AUGUST 2013 • NATURA 87