An introduction to

Islamic Architecture and

its influence on the West.
 As the European civilization grew and reached the
Middle Ages, there was hardly a field of learning or
form of art, be it science, literature or architecture,
where there was not some influence of Islamic culture
present.

 Islamic learning became in this way part and parcel of

Western civilization well into the advent of the
Renaissance (where exchanges continued to be based
on mutual intellectual respect despite historic
differences), and on to the modern era.
 This presentation provides a short account of
the features that characterize what is referred
to as Islamic architecture, and recalls some of
the threads and common elements that bind it
to historic and contemporary western
architecture.
 Islamic Culture:
Diversity in
Unity
 Islamic culture reached out and
intermingled with large numbers of varied
and distant peoples. In the course of 12
centuries, the cultures of Central Asia, the
Indian subcontinent and South East Asia
were added to the Islam’s original areas of
influence in the Middle East, North
Africa, Persia and Turkey.
 The uniting of so many diverse cultures under
one religion had the effect of integrating and
disseminating the latest and best discoveries to all
parts of the realm.

 Paper making from China, numerals from India,

classical Greek science and philosophy
translations, Byzantine and Coptic traditions were
all shared. In medicine the Muslims enhanced
Greek theory by practical observation and clinical
experience.
 One of the major achievements of the Islamic
civilization is its architecture.

 Its great masterpieces (from the Dome on the

Rock in Jerusalem, the Taj Mahal in India to
the Mosque of Cordoba in Spain) unite
intricate spatial relationships, artistic
illustration, remarkable structural technology
and sensitive environmental harmony into
magnificent displays.
Dome on the Rock, Jerusalem
Taj Mahal, India
 Mosque of Cordoba

Mosque of Cordoba, Spain

Islamic Architectural Style
 Over the years, Islamic architecture
evolved from the first mosque built by
the Prophet Muhammad in Medina, and
from other pre-Islamic features adapted
from churches, temples and synagogues
into a highly refined and distinctive style.
 The fundamental vocabulary of Islamic architecture
was worked out relatively quickly during the first
two centuries of the new faith, that is the 7th and 8th
centuries.

 It proved flexible enough to meet all the needs of

Muslim life. Mosques, schools, markets,
mausoleums, houses and public baths were built
with a beautiful unified design system, embracing
regional disparities and inventiveness.
 The prime architectural elements that define
Islamic style are:

 Courtyard
 Minaret
 Dome
 Mihrab
 Iwan
 Arches and Vaults
 Geometric decorative patterns and calligraphy
Islamic architectural elements in a typical mosque. Source: Encarta
 the
Courtyard
 Most mosques contain a
courtyard (originally a
feature of the Prophet's
mosque) with a central
fountain or pool, surrounded
on all sides by an arcade.
 A courtyard (sahn) in a
mosque is used for
performing ablutions,
praying, meditation and
socializing.

Grand Mosque, Aleppo Syria

 An interior courtyard in a
traditional house, on the other
hand, is used for aesthetics
and privacy.

 It performs an important
function as a modifier of
climate in hot arid areas.

 It allows outdoor activities

with protection from the
wind, dust and sun.
 Interior courtyards serve
both as light wells, in a
building with limited
exterior window openings,
and as air wells into which
the cool dense night air
sinks.

 During the day, the heated

air rises, convection currents
set up an airflow that, in
conjunction with a fountain
and pool, ventilates the
house and keeps it cool.

Painting by: Filippo Baratti, 1872

 the
Minaret
Unique to Islamic architecture are the minarets. Their dual
functions are to act as a landmark for mosque location; and to
enable the call to prayer to be chanted high above the
community for the faithful to hear.
 Samarra Yemen Syria Seville Ottoman Taj Mahal

Source: “Islam Art and Architecture”

Source: “Islam Art and Architecture”
Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
Masjid El-Nabawi. Medina, Saudi Arabia
 the
Dome
 Domes, a dominant feature, may have
been a development of early Christian
sources.

 The earliest Islamic use of the dome was

in the eighth century mosque of Medina.

 Some mosques will have multiple, often

smaller domes in addition to the main
large dome that resides at the central
praying area

18th century panel representing the mosque of Medina

in
Saudi Arabia.
Khoja Ahmad Yasawi Mausoleum,
Turkistan 14th century

Photo: “Islam, Art and Architecture”

Sultan Mosque, Singapore, 1826
bearing multiple domes
 the
Mihrab
 The most important element in
any mosque is the mihrab, the
niche that indicates the
direction of Mecca. Because it
functions as the focal point in
prayer ritual, its decoration was
executed with great skill and
devotion

Mihrab in the tomb of Sultan Iltutmish, Delhi, 1236

Mihrab, 14th century Isfahan,
Iran
 the
Iwan
 An Iwan is a vaulted hall or space, used to intermediate between different sections.
 There are usually four around the courtyard.

Sultan Hassan mosque, Egypt

 Arches and
Vaults
 To the early architects of the mosque we may attribute the
development of the horseshoe and pointed arch and brick
vaulted arcades
 Gardens
 The Muslims developed the concept of the
garden as a place of beauty and meditation,
harmoniously integrated with the building
layout.

 Islamic gardens were typically designed as a

sort of escape or peaceful seclusion from the
outside world.
Alhambra Gardens, 12 Century
Golestan Palace garden , Tehran, Iran, 16th century
 Ornamentation
 The brilliant use of decorative
schemes, geometric shapes and
repetitive patterns are a hallmark
of Islamic architecture .
Tiles. Iran, 14th century.
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
Herat Mosque in Afghanistan
Photo: “Architecture of the Islamic World”
Madar-i-Shah, Isfahan, Iran, 18th century

Photo: “Architecture De L’Islam”

 Plaster, brickwork,
glazed brick and tile
were used as
decorative media .

Dome on the Rock, Jerusalem

Photo: “Architecture De L’Islam”
 Stalactites (Muqarnas)
 Vast numbers of small
squinches were used as a
decorative motif , built in
overlapping layers creating
a magical cave of satellites.
 They were first used to
cover pendentives ,
spherical triangles which act
as a transition between a
circular dome and a square
or polygonal hall on which
the dome is set.
:
Photo “Architecture De
L’Islam”
 Stalactites were later
employed as a decorative
features in door heads,
columns capitals and on
walls.

Painting by M. Rifaat, 2006

 The use of Ornamental Arabic Calligraphy

Because the Muslim

Like all Islamic
faith discourages decoration, calligraphy
pictorial representation, is closely linked to
the extensive use of geometry. The
calligraphy evolved into proportions of the letters
a highly sophisticated are all governed by
decorative medium. Its mathematics.
role in recording the Inscriptions are most
word of God renders it often used as a frame
one of the most along and around main
important forms of elements of a building
Islamic art. like portals and cornices.
Friday Mosque, Isfahan, Iran

Many Islamic buildings have surface inscriptions in
stone, stucco, marble, mosaic and/or painting. The
inscription might be a verse from the Koran, lines of
poetry, or names and dates.
Friday Mosque, Yazid, Iran
 Islamic Architectural
Style Transfer to the
West
 Many of the outstanding medieval
buildings of the West are indebted to the
techniques of Islamic architecture. In
fact, it can be said that the great medieval
European architectural tradition is one of
the elements of Western civilization most
directly linked to the Islamic world.

Bargello Musium, Florence, 13th century

 The Role of
Spain
 From its power house in Mecca, Islam flashed
through North Africa and brought to Spain in the
8th century the architectural heritage of the
Middle East.

 It was energetically superimposed on the

dormant Roman-Romanesque traditions of the
time, culminating in highly imaginative and
structurally ingenious design techniques;
gradually making their way all across Europe.
 Comparison of these two minarets reveals design features carried
through over eight centuries, from the 8th century Great Mosque in
Damascus (left) to the 16th century Aragon Cathedral in Spain
 Horseshoe arcades dominate the 10th Great Mosque
of Cordoba (left), and the 15th century Church of
Santa Maria la Blanca in Toledo.
 Astonishing similarities between
the stalactites ( Muquanas) and
wall calligraphy on the walls of
the 14th century Sultan Hassan
Mausoleum in Cairo (left), and
those of the 15th century Church
of Santa Maria la Blanca in
Toledo
Great Mosque, Damascus, 8th century Royal Palace, Zisa, Palermo, 12th century
Basilica Nuestra Señora del Pilar, 17th century Sultan Hassan Mosque, 14th century
Zaragoza, Spain Cairo, Egypt
 According to Thomas Goldstein (“The Dawn of
Modern Science”), the cities of Spain were
“urban, commercial, sophisticated, exotic,
and cosmopolitan”.

 They developed into great international

centers of cultural advancement and
enterprise, and served as models for the
urbanization of Europe. Cities like Cordova,
Seville, Toledo and Grenada became centers
of knowledge dissemination for five
centuries.
10th century Muslim Cordova was an immense city with
over 1 million inhabitants, rivaling the splendours of
Constantinople, Damascus and Baghdad.

With its paved streets, complete with street lighting, 70

public libraries, universities and public baths it was the
most splendid city on the continent.

The significance of this in terms of human development is

underscored by the fact at that period, major urban
settlements in the rest of Europe were mere towns
estimated to be of no more than 50,000 inhabitants.
Gardens

 It was in Toledo in 11th century Muslim

Spain, and later in Seville, that the first
botanical gardens of Europe made their
appearance. They were pleasure gardens as
well as trial grounds for the acclimatization of
plants brought from the Middle East.


Flowers which originated in Muslim gardens include the carnation and the tulip.
 Today the consequences of the introduction of palace
gardens, pools and fountains by the Arabs can be admired
all over Europe .

 The 18th century gardens of the Chateau de Versailles in

France are magnificent examples.
Versailles gardens
(18th century)

Taj Mahal gardens

(17th century)
The perfectly regular series of geometrical compartments seen in
Versailles (left) are reminiscent of typical Islamic garden designs
 “The accuracy and geometric ingenuity of Islamic
building became a permanent lesson to architects
in the West”. (Bill Risebero ,“The Story of Western
Architecture”)

Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Villa Farnese ·

Caprarola,
 Impact on Gothic
architecture

Following the end of the Arab rule in Spain, the splendor
of Islamic architectural lived on through its direct impact
on Gothic architecture, and consequently onto the 18th
century through links to Renaissance and Baroque styles.


Muslims played a foremost role in introducing the
pointed arch, vaulting, multiple towers (or minarets),
and other features so characteristic of Europe's Gothic
cathedrals.

Joseph Watterson (“ Architecture-A Short History”) explains
that it was in France, during the latter part of the 12th
century, that the Gothic system of building was born.
The pointed arch “was the first step in the
development of the Gothic system. The pointed arch
in itself was nothing new, for it has long been used
in the East”.


Patrick Nuttgens (“The Story of Architecture”) goes further:
“ Yet not one of the features by which we
distinguish Gothic architecture was new – not the
pointed arch or window, nor cross-vaulting, flying
buttresses or twin towers on the façade”.
Mausoleum of Ibn Kalaoun, Cairo Rheims Cathedral, Paris

Pointed arches allowed for better distribution of
vertical forces away from windows and doors. Walls
could then be lighter and buildings could be built
bigger, higher, and more complex.


According to Patrick Nuttgens (The Story of Architecture”)
the French called this new Gothic style “ le style
ogival” (pointed or ribbed ) in recognition of the
dept its shape owed to the East.
 The French recognized further
possibilities opened up by the pointed
arch and vault, producing cathedrals of
breathtaking beauty and proportions,
emulated by the rest of Europe
Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral
Palma de Mallorca Cathedral, Spain
 Mudéjar is the name given to the
Muslims of Al-Andalus, who
remained in Spain, but were not
converted to Christianity. (It is a
medieval Spanish corruption of the Arabic
word Mudajjan‫) مدجن‬

 Mudéjar also denotes a vernacular

style (sometimes referred to as Mudéjar
Gothic) which emerged in the 12th
century on the Iberian peninsular.

Royal Residence built by Peter of Castile,

in Mudéjar tradition,14th century
 Wikipedia describes Mudéjar style as “ a
symbiosis of techniques and ways of
understanding architecture resulting from
Muslim, Christian and Jewish cultures living
side by side”

 Mudéjar style developed complicated tiling patterns

that have never been surpassed in sophistication. Even
after the Muslims were no longer employed, many of
their contributions remained an integral part of Spanish
architecture.
 Mudéjar brought in a
new characteristic by
leading to a fusion
between the incipient
Gothic style and the
Muslim influences that
had previously been
superimposed on late
Romanesque

Tower of the Santa María church in

Calatayud, 15th century Spain
 “Arab Norman Style” in Sicily

 The early Medieval summer

palace of Zisa, in Palermo, is a
prime example of the continued
European use of Muslim
designers and builders after the
end of Muslim rule in Spain.

 Commissioned by the 12 century

Norman rulers of Sicily, Zisa is in
effect an Muslim building. It is Photographic collection of René Seindal
designed by Muslim architects and and Valentina Derito

built by Muslim craftsmen

according to Muslim traditions.
Other examples of Arab Norman Style in Sicily are San
Cataldo Church and the Moreale Cathedral in Palermo.
The Palatina chapel, is
a composition of
Islamic splendour,
adorned with
glittering mosaics.
The Arabian stalactite
ceiling, (muqarnas),
was created by Iraqi
artists from Samara.
An interior courtyard in Arab Norman style, Palermo, Sicily
 The Mudéjar tradition
continued in some areas
into the Renaissance
period.

 At Seville several
Mudéjar palaces were
still under construction
in the 16th century. The Casa de Pilatos, Seville,
Spain. The 16th century building
is a mixture of Italian Renaissance
and Spanish Mudéjar.
 Cross-cultural
Exchange Through
Trade
 Islamic architectural influence grew at a rapid
rate as the the empire expanded and Muslim
traders found their way to the most remote
areas of the then-known world, building a
vast network of foreign trading stations and
settlements.
Muslim Trading Routes. Source: “Islamic Art and Architecture”
 Between the 5th and 9th centuries, the major
building projects in western Europe were
almost at a standstill.

 Architectural development was left to

Byzantium, which had benefited
economically from its trading partnership
with the Orient.
 This situation changed as, in the 9th and 10th century, a
number of merchant cities on the edge of western
Europe forged strong links with their Islamic
neighbours: Cairo, Damascus and Constantinople,
trading both goods and ideas.

 Such cities as Naples, Ravenna, Milan, Pisa, and

above all, Venice worked their way to the economic
and cultural forefront of Europe.
 The Role
of Venice
 For almost 1000 years, Venice (the last stop on
the “silk road”) was the meeting place of
Europe and the East. By the 16 century, Venice
had become a supreme Mediterranean trading
power.
 Her prosperity and her identity derived from
her role as mediator between Western Europe
and the much richer civilizations of the Middle
East, and her ability to exchange and assimilate
goods and ideas from across the Mediterranean
 Debra Howard (“Venice and the East”) explains that
studies of east-west contacts in the Middle Ages have
long recognized the seminal role of Spain in the
channeling of Arab learning to Europe. In
architectural terms, Spain reveals more overt Islamic
influence, and has been proposed as a route for the
import of Gothic characteristics into western Europe.

 In comparison to Spain , Howard argues, “Venice was

not subject to direct Muslim domination, rather,
Venetian trading patterns reveal such profuse
evidence of direct contact with the eastern
Mediterranean and its people”, that it freely absorbed
Muslim visual arts and intellectual culture directly.
Several Arab cities had a
permanent Venetian
diplomatic representative with
regular access to local
authorities. Ties between the
Venetian nobility and
merchant classes and their
counterparts was particularly
strong.

The longest reigning Doge of The Reception of the Venetian Ambassadors

in Damascus, 1511
Venice, Francesco Foscari Musée du Louvre, Paris
(r. 1423–57), was born in (Note: The Venetians are in black)
Egypt.
(Department of Islamic Art,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
 By the 15th century, Venice became Christian
Europe's most important interface with the
Muslim civilizations of the Middle East.

 The Middle East came to influence the city’s

artistic and artisan output so profoundly that
even experts sometimes struggle to figure out
whether works are Venetian or Oriental.

 East-West hybrids of architectural styles

flourished.
Mark, Venice’s patron saint,
was from the Egyptian city of
Alexandria, and her cultural
and spiritual centre – the
basilica of San Marco –
was built in his honor

Piazza St. Marco, Venice. 18th Century Painting by Canaletto

Saint Mark's Basilica, Venice 12th Century
 An architectural style described as a cross between late
Gothic and Islamic prevails in these 15th century
Venetian palaces.
  Similarities between the courtyards of the 15th century
Ca’ Goldoni, Venice (left) and Yasine House, Alleppo,
Syria are obvious. Both open courtyards admit light to
the heart of dwellings in dense urban settings, creating
the family’s private refuge, a primary Islamic
architectural tradition.

Photos : “Venice and the East”, Debra Howard

 The papacy often sought to prohibit trade between the
Christians of western Europe and the Muslims of the
Middle East with trade embargos. But because their
livelihood depended so much on east-west trade,
Venetians fought to have such bans lifted and, on
occasion, even defied the pope.

 During the Crusades, the Venetians compromised their

position with the papacy by acting opportunistically to
maintain their good trade relations with the Muslim
world. (“Venice and the Orient”, exhibition, L’Institut du Monde Arabe in
Paris February, 2007).
 the
Crusades
 In 1095 Pope Urban II granted absolutions to
whomever would reclaim the Holy Land for
Christendom. With that assurance began two
centuries of Crusades.

 Of the numerous momentous consequences of the

Crusades, one of the least acknowledged is their
role in bringing back to Europe advanced Islamic
knowledge.
 Thousands of westerners were brought in direct contact
with an advanced civilization.
  As Bill Risebero (“ The Story of Western Architecture”)
explains:
“Whether the Crusades had been initiated for
political or for religious reasons, there is no
doubt that the most significant gains to the West
were economic and cultural”.

 Captured Muslim craftsmen “brought their

superior skills to Europe, looted artifacts
provided patterns for westerner craftsmen to
copy, and acquired books helped to spread
Arabic ideas and knowledge.”
 Building techniques found their way
westwards, starting with castle building
where Islamic ideas were adopted wholesale
by the Crusaders as they built there own
defenses, changing the pattern of western
castle-building forever.
Krak de Chevalier.

A fortress in Syria (12

to 13th century), built by
the crusaders using
methods learned from
Islamic military
architecture.
 Cross-cultural
Exchange Through
Scholars and
Travelers
 In addition to trade relationships, transfer of
architectural concepts was supplemented by
observations and drawings of the numerous
western scholars, architects and travelers to
North Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

 Never was nostalgia for the past greater than in

Northern Europe at the beginning of the 19 th
century as expanding industrialization was
creating a bleak, inhumane environment.
 The exotic past of the countries to the
south and east of Europe became more
widely known as descriptions of historic
buildings were publishes by travelers,
and miniature paintings from Persia and
India found their way to the West.
A collection of drawings by 18th and 19th century travelers
which helped revive western interest in Islamic architecture
.
Scottish-born David Roberts is the most famous of the 19th
century artists to travel to the Middle East. He brought back
from his visits to Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Syria and the Holy
Land fabulous highly precise drawings of people and places he
had seen.

Photos: Rita Bianucci “David Roberts, Egypt and the Holy Land”
Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach
(1656 – 1723)

 Austrian architect, sculptor, and historian

Erlach’s publication “A Plan of Civil and
Historical Architecture” (Vienna, 1721) was one
of the first and most popular European
comparative studies of world architecture,
with representations of Arab, Turkish and
Persian architecture based on writings of
travelers and archeologists.
Sultan Ahmad Mosque in Constantinople, as illustrated in
“A Plan of Civil and Historical Architecture”
 The publication
spurred the design of
several structures in
a quasi-Islamic
manner, including
Erlach’s own
Karlskirche church
in Vienna (1715).
 Sir Christopher Wren

 Sir Christopher Wren, England’s celebrated 17th

century architect, was a fan of Islamic architecture
and an advocate of its effect on Gothic styles.

 In his greatest project, St Paul's Cathedral , several

Islamic elements may be
detected, including the structure
of the dome and aisles, and the
combination of dome and towers.
John Nash (1752-1835)

 George IV commissioned architect John Nash to remodel an unfinished

structure at the London Royal Pavilion. The design submitted was
inspired by the Taj Mahal. It was built in the 19th Century as a seaside
retreat for the then Prince Regent .
London Royal Pavilion, John Nash
Owen Jones ( 1809 – 1874)
 English designer, architect,
and writer, best known for
his standard work treating
both Eastern and Western
design motifs

 He travelled for four years

in Italy, Greece, Turkey,
Egypt and Spain, making a
special study of Alhambra.

 Upon his return to England

in 1836, he played a role Christ Church, Streathem Hill.
in spreading interest in
Islamic culture.
 Alexandra Palace was built in North London, England, in 1863 based on
the drawings of Owen Jones
 Jones was a strong advocate of ornamentation as an
integral part of design.

 The “Grammar of Ornament”, a book authored by him and first published

in 1856 became an important tool of the period by introducing designers
to decorative arts from cultures where Jones traveled: Chinese, Persian,
Indian and most notably Islamic.
Illustration from “The Grammar of Ornament” (1856)
 Owen Jones saw in Alhambra the
perfect embodiment of the principles
of decoration. He wrote of Alhambra
in The Grammar of Ornament:

“not only does the decoration arise

naturally from the construction, but the
constructive idea is carried out in every
detail of the ornament on the surface”.

Hall of Ambassadors, Alhambra, Spain

Frank Furness ( 1839 – 1912)
 Amongst American architects who were inspired by the
publications of Owen Jones was Furness.

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts ,1875

Gabriel Davioud (1823-1881)
 Perhaps the most striking
Islamic features
resemblance in the
Trocadéro Palace in Paris
(1878) were the two square
towers, said to be modeled
after the minarets of North
African mosques—with
elaborately ornamented
facades and domed
pavilions.
 Lord Leighton (1830-1896).

 Leighton House Museum

in London is the former
. studio-house of the
Victorian artist Frederic,
Lord Leighton (designed
by George Aitchison).

 His appreciation of
Islamic work is reflected
in the “Arab Hall”
 Fredric Church (1826-1900)
 After touring Syria, Palestine and
Europe, American landscape
painter Fredric Church (1826-1900)
did a series of Mediterranean
compositions that included scenes
from Jerusalem and Petra.

 Church returned from his trip with

an enthusiasm for Islamic
architecture, devoted most of his
efforts to the design and
construction of his estate at
Greendale-on-Hudson, New York.
 Along the way, peculiar
hybrids appeared, such
as the Royal Panopticon
of Science and Art (1852,
top) and its replacement,
the Alhambra Palace
Theater in Leicester
Square, London
 Modernist
Architects
Movement
 Islamic influence died out for some
decades until some of its features and
concepts were brought back by the
creative 20th century Modernist (Art
Nouveau) architectural movement .
Las Ventas, Salamanca, Spain is a bullring designed by Espeliú
(1931) in the so called “ Mudejar Revival” style
Antoni Gaudí (1852 –1926)

 Gaudi the great Spanish

architect of the Modernism
movement, is famous for his
unique style and highly
individualistic designs.
 One of his very rare trips outside his
native Barcelona was to Morocco.
His profound interest in Mudéjar
heritage governed the design of his
early works, such as Casa Vincens
and Astorga Palace
 Gaudi’s first house, Casa Vincens (1878),
was an expression of Art Nouveau.
 He used a standard tile as a
decorative feature and a module for
the whole house. This technique, together
with the rooftop tower, are common Islamic traits.
Gaudi’s Astorga Palace, 1887
 Patrick Nuggens
(“Understanding Modern
Architecture) describes
Gaudi’s work as “
architecture of sunlight, full
of colour, based on Greek
and Arab decorations, a
product of Spain. Its shapes
reflect nature; they also
reveal his interest in
mechanics and three
dimensional geometry”

Casa Vincens, Barcelona

Johan van der Mey
 Johan was a leading member of
the modernist or expressionist
architectural movement that
developed in Northern Europe
during the first decades of the
20th Century.

 Expressionism is described as
“drawing as much from
Moorish, Islamic, Egyptian,
and Indian art and architecture
as from Roman or Greek”
(Wikipedia)

Shipping House, Amsterdam, 1912

 Hans Poelzig (1869 – 1936)
 The Großes Schauspielhaus
(Great Theater) Berlin,
Germany, (1919) is another
example of expressionist
architecture.

 . “The dome and pillars were

decorated with muqaras, a
honeycombed pendentive
ornament, which resembled
stalactites”. (Wikipedia)
 Le Corbusier
 The earlier work of Le Corbusier ,
the turn-of-the-century
architect whose immense
influence on global modern
architecture is undeniable,
displayed affinity in some of his
early works with the Ottoman
and North African vernacular
he had studied . Postcard in the personal collection of
Le Corbusier, Fondation Le Corbusier,
Paris
 A number of his early
villas, such as Villa
Schob were organized
around a central
courtyard, and
characterized by simple
spacing, massing, and
blank street facades, a
typical Islamic house Villa Schobe , 1916)
arrangement.
 According to Zeynep Celik “the North African vernacular
surfaced sporadically in Le Corbusier’s work – to name a few,
in the Roq et Rob project ( 1949) and Maison Jaoul (1953)”* in
France.

*"Re-visioning America and the 20th Century', p

ublished in "One Hundred Years of Architecture"
 Perhaps one of the most
fascinating of Zeynep
Celik’s assertions is that
one of Le Corbusier’s
most famous buildings,
the Notre-dame-Du-Haut
church in Ronchamp
(1954) “echoed the
sculptural mass of Sidi
Ibrahim Mosque” in
Algeria
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 - 1959)
 Following his visit to
Baghdad, and his design
of the master plan for
Baghdad university,
Wright, one of America’s
greatest architects,
designed the Civic Center
in San Rafael, California
in the late 50’s with an
Islamic flavour.
Civic Center in San Rafael, California, Frank Lloyd Wright
Civic Center in San Rafael, California, Frank Lloyd Wright
Louis Sullivan (1856 – 1924)

 Traces of Islamic character can

be found in works of Louis Sullivan,
one of the fathers of modernism in
America.

Guaranty Building, Buffalo, 1895

Carson, Pirie, Scott Building, Chicago, 1899

 Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler's
Transportation Building was one of the most
memorable structures at the 1893 Columbian
Exposition in Chicago.
 Sullivan draped his buildings with
intricate system of vegetal
ornament. Patrick Nuttens
(“Understanding Modern Architecture”) wrote
that he used Owen Jones’ “
Grammar of Ornament” for
inspiration

 The ornaments and decorations

were integral to the idea and
design of the building itself,
another primary Islamic design
concept.
Guaranty Building, Buffalo, 1895
 More North
American
Examples
Hearst Castle , San Simeon, California
The Berkeley City Club, California
Alcazar Theatre Building, San Francisco, California
Opa-locka, City Hall, Florida

Some architects have

demonstrated much
enthusiasm in imitating
Islamic design features!
 McGill Square Church, Toronto
 Henry Langley’s 19th
century church in the
Gothic Revival style
has familiar features,
most notably the
multiple, slim, highly
decorated towers and
pinnacles (suggestive
of typical minarets).
Stanford University, California
 PPG Building, Pittsburg

 Architect Philip Johnson is

said to also have borrowed
ideas from French style in
his 1984 PPG Building by
adapting modernists
signature glass curtain
walls to Gothic forms.
 Commenting on the PPG building, TIME
editors predict that “soaring with uplift, the
French style may yet be around for a
while” (“Great Buildings of the World”, Editors of TIME).

 Being the forerunner of French Gothic, we

predict that the Islamic style may also yet
be around for a while; and the dialogue
between western architecture and Islamic
architecture, which goes back to the birth
of Islam in the seventh century, shall
continue to flourish
 Arthur Erickson is an
internationally celebrated
Canadian architect. In 1973 he
was made an Officer of the
Order of Canada and was
promoted to Companion in 1981.

 Erickson is no stranger to
Islamic architecture and the
Middle East, where he was
awarded some forty prestigious
public projects, such as the the
Dubai Etisalat Tower .
Etisalat Tower, Dubai, UAE
Photo: Official Arthur Erickson
Architect web site
Filberg House, Comox , British Columbia
 The Filberg house, designed by Erickson in
1958 is, according to the Globe and Mail, the
most beautiful house in Canada , the design
of which “borrows profoundly from
Andalusian architecture”.

 We decided to end this presentation with

some fascinating photos of the Filberg House,
downloaded from the official website of
Arthur Erickson Architect :
 References
 Markus Hattstein and Peter Delius, “Islam Art and Architecture”
 Henri Stierlin, “Islam From Baghdad to Cordoba. Early Architecture”
 Henri Stierlin, “Architecture De L’Islam”
 Zeynep Celik, “ Architecture of Islam at Nineteenth Century World’s Fair”
 Owen Jones, “ The Grammar of Ornament”
 Geoge Mitchell, “ Architecture of the Islamic World”
 Debra Howard, “ Venice and the East”
 John Hoag, “Western Islamic Architecture”
 Bill Risebero, “ The Story of Western Architecture”
 Parick Nuggens, “The Story of Architecture”
 Bruce Allsopp, “The Great Tradition of Western Architecture”
 The Editors of TIME, “ Great Buildings of the World”
 Richard Koshalek and Elizabeth Smith, “One Hundred Years of architecture”