Over the past few days, we have featured several entries by different practices to the competition of the Central Mosque of Prishtina. The young Albanian architecture practice X-Plan Studio, were also participants to this international competition held in January to April, by the Islamic community of Kosovo. Explore more of their competition proposal after the break…

Exterior rendering, top view.

 The goals of the project were: to create a fluid space that serves the person, to bring a unique ensemble and turn it into the symbol of the city, to the role of faith, function and the architectural language used, and to make the mosque, the epicenter of the Muslim community in Kosovo.

Exterior rendering, back view.

Mosque is an object of worship, created of human needs to be closer to God. The architectural development recognizes different stages of evolution, however, the characteristics of its traditional elements are strong and used nowadays. At the heart of the main function of the creation of such an object is the person, that the desire and need of prayer to God, made possible the construction of places of prayer and worship. In a quick look at the city of Prishtina, we see that there are a substantial number of mosques, all built with a spirit based on traditional Ottoman architectural heritage.

Interior rendering.

Our idea was a result of the current perception, traditional mosque and its elements, adapting the contemporary architecture. The strong modern intervention provides the individual with a great view, showing once again the undivided “old -new” which live together bringing in our eyes the modern mosque in the traditional style.

Exterior rendering, back view.

We have created an ensemble that will become one of the most popular, not only for believers, but also for visitors from the local community, inside and outside the mosque. Our goal was to turn the ensemble into the symbol of the city, which is why the architecture language is selected carefully, adapting the modern development, but also respecting the religious symbolism.