Architecture Commons^™

Dar Islam Mosque, Albuquerque, New Mexico Studio Design Project, Melissa Harlan

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

In historically Muslim countries, mosques take the prescribed form of a large hall with adjacent courtyard, minaret(s), and ornately decorated entrance portal. With Islam's spread to the United States, the mosque no longer takes this form, due to construction and technological conventions, as well as the diminished economic will of the religious community. The design for the Dar Islam Mosque in Albuquerque, New Mexico takes a position of difference in response to the current debate in the Muslim community over historicism versus contextualism of mosques, where the individual's response to the space is primary, with emphasis placed on disconnecting from …