Innovative Approach to Mosque Architecture

November 28, 2023

Faculty member from the Department of Architecture at GTU designs the Karamürsel Akçakoca Mosque project with the concept of "sustainable architecture"

The architectural design and implementation projects of the "Karamürsel Akçakoca Mosque Project," drawn by Asst. Prof. Dr. İbrahim Türkeri and Master Architect Gönül Karademir Türkeri, both from the Faculty of Architecture at Gebze Technical University, have been completed and the mosque has been opened for worship. The concept of "sustainable architecture" was the foundation of the mosque's architectural structure. Asst. Prof. Dr. İbrahim Türkeri, who works on the design of public buildings and is also conducting his doctoral research on places of worship, said the following about the project: "If another Islamic place of worship was to be built in this region, we felt the planimetric structure of the Prophet Muhammad's Mosque in Medina and the Karamürsel Village Mosques had to be evoked. We made a reference to the Grand Mosque of Bursa. We preserved the olive trees. We designed the mosque minaret, constructed with raw concrete, as a nest for birds and used the Samanlı Mountains as our qibla wall. The Islamic religion considers the entire earth as a place of worship. Starting from here, the qibla wall of the structure becomes transparent and anchors itself to the physical environment as a surface facing the Samanlı Mountains. The mosque serves as an urban open space, overlooking the Gulf of İzmit, acting as a terrace. Horizontality dominates the main worship space. Responding to this horizontal composition by opening up to the sky, the upper covering provides a new mosque image. Although there were some interventions in the process, the main design of the Karamürsel Akçakoca Mosque project has reached a satisfactory level, and the Mosque has been opened for use. Thus, we have experienced that sometimes what is important is to just "complete." We believe that, just like in the theological field, what is important for the designer is "intention," and based on this, we wish it be beneficial to all humanity and the Islamic civilization."