Khashokji Mosque in Horsh

Notes

In the Khashokji Mosque, Salam combined once again the materials he had used in earlier projects in a clear straightforward way. The plan is a juxtaposition of two distinct parts. The first is a cubic enclosed space of prayer, dressed with sandstone, framed by freestanding concrete columns, and capped with a complex concrete shell—a modern interpretation of the dome—echoing Felix Candela's experiments in concrete shells. The second is an adjacent outdoor space, surrounded by walking galleries and covered by a concrete slab with clerestory openings all around. Next to it stands a square minaret dressed in sandstone, with vertical crannies looking like arrow slits, an idea the architect had developed with the team of the Lebanese Pavilion at the New York Fair.
The Khashokji Mosque is a meaningful modern contribution to Islamic architecture. The concrete cast pointed-arch galleries surrounding the outdoor space  are a literal détournement, as they stand perpendicularly to the main elevation, whereas one expects to see them participate in the façade. Instead, they offer to the street their profile, reduced here to a simple wall side.
(George Arbid)

Sources

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