Islamic Architecture by Dxx

Building Analysis - Dome of the Rock

Name of Building : Dome of the Rock
Location : Al Quds, Palestine
Year of construction : A.H. 71 , A.D. 691
Materials :

Exterior :Glass, Plaster, Wood, Gold , Stone.
Interior : Mosaic, Marble, Engraved wood, Printed leather, Bronze.

Building Type : Mosque
Ruling Period : Ummayads
Distinguished Feature : Golden Dome, Mosaic Interiors
Basic Outline Geometries : Octagonal Shape [8 sides]
Maximum Height : 35 meters

Introduction:
The mosque is located on an artificial platform which is known today as the (Al Haram Al Sahreef), established in the times of King Herod, The site's significance stems from religious traditions regarding the rock, known as the Foundation Stone, at its heart, which bears great significance for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

Historical Importance:

Highlight the victory of Islam as a religion that completes the preceding religions of Christianity and Judaism.
Compete with the other great churches established in Al Quds city at that time.
Celebrate the Umayyad Dynasty.

Architectural analysis notes :

Central Dome:

Dimension: 20 meters in diameter, 25 meters in Height.
contains two wooden structural ribs for extra strengthening.
Internal dome with 16 windows.
Base is placed over a circular series of arches of 4 supports and 12 pillars.

Walkways:
Two circular walkways separated by a group of 8 arches each containing 4 supports and 16 pillars.

Exterior features:

each edge of the octagonal shape is divided into 7 narrow rectangular shapes, separated each by supports.
Entrances in all four elevations each preceded by a lobby.

Architectural analysis sheets for reference :

Interior Shot of the mosque

Beautiful Mosaics of plants and ornaments.

References :
-Islamic Art and Architecture, 650–1250
-Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_of_the_Rock
-Dome of the Rock: A Masterpiece of Islamic Architecture
https://architecture.knoji.com/dome-of-the-rock-a-masterpiece-of-islamic-architecture/

The Book on Amazon:

Imam Mosque in Isfahan, Iran

Muqarnas :
the Muqarnas is basically a three-dimensional decoration of Islamic architecture.It was initially built to be structural in purpose made out of stone, but later on it became of a more crafted decoration and made of plaster, these clusters niches were used to decorate the area between the wall and the dome in Islamic architecture.
it can also be defined as : Honeycomb or stalactite vaulting.

The main pieces used for muqarnas and their flat projections
reference website : http://castera.net/entrelacs/public/articles/Z-M-Q.htm

Professor Shiro Takahashi has thoroughly documented the architectural records of the Muqarans with hundereds of details of its geometric plan views, in his documentation he has calssified them into three categories in attempt to clarify the formative styles of Muqarnas.

The three basic classifications are :
1) Square Style:

2) Pole table Style:

3) Other styles :

I would highly recommend going to his website for a complete database of detailed plans for all the types of muqarnas in Islamic architecture thoroughly researched and analyzed.

A snapshot of Professor Shiro Takahashi's website

On the www.designcoding.net website you will also be able to find a simple grasshopper definition and a rhino file where these patterns are created. The design in simple but it is useful to understand the basics of creating these geometries in 3D.
http://www.designcoding.net/parametric-muqarnas/

If you are interested in creating some of these geometries yourself, you can find a research paper in www.academia.edu called (MUQARNAS RECONCEIVED - A BRIEF SURVEY: An Islamic Space-enclosing System - Techniques for Designing Muqarnas Forms), the paper explains the techniques and geometrical basis on how to design a Muqarnas.

Link of the pdf file here :
https://www.academia.edu/5734042/MUQARNAS_RECONCEIVED_-_A_BRIEF_SURVEY_An_Islamic_Space-enclosing_System_-_Techniques_for_Designing_Muqarnas_Forms