INSTITUTION
An Australian mosque uses
concrete to choreograph light
SYDNEY – In Punchbowl – a dense, diverse
suburb of Sydney named after the curva-
ceous sides of a nearby valley – a mosque
designed by local firm Candalepas Asso-
ciates, best known for robust yet refined
urban housing, has just been completed. Its
raw concrete exterior has attracted the inev-
itable ‘brutalist’ tag, but its matte finishes
are surprisingly soft and enticing, while its
strong angles and occasional curves present
a series of striking profiles.
Traditional elements such as the
minaret and a shallow dome are included
but, at the request of the congregation,
given a contemporary twist. The former, for
instance, is integrated as a jutting projection
from the main body of the mosque, acting as
an entrance for female worshippers to the
two wood-screened balconies that overlook
the prayer hall. Stepping into this main
space, visitors are met by the project’s real
set-piece. Hanging above the entrance are
seven steeply raking rows of crisp concrete
half-domes, 102 in all, rising up two adjoin-
ing walls, offering changing, captivating
silhouettes as one moves though the hall.
Each of these half-domes is inscribed in
golden calligraphy with one of the 99 Names
of Allah, and each is punctured by a small
30-mm hole at its centre, drawing in a tiny
shaft of light that traverses the interior as
the sun passes overhead.
The half-dome forms were cast in situ
to exacting standards – a significant feat of
engineering in itself – and pay homage to the
ornamental muqarnas vaulting of traditional
Islamic architecture, in which highly deco-
rated niche-like forms, often arranged in tierswith hanging elements, cover the undersides
of arches, gateways and dome chambers.
Here at Punchbowl they have an austere
grandeur, but also afford visual pleasure, as
light from the oculus and clerestory windows
of the timber-clad dome moves across their
surfaces, articulating their precise, layered
geometries and reaching deep into their
patinated recesses.
During the project’s 20-year genesis,
architect Angelo Candalepas was inspired by
his trips to Ahmedabad and Agra to ‘embrace
the playful nature of concrete’, and has suc-
ceeded here in creating a humane, intimate
space, yet one that also provides hints of the
sublime through its simple materiality and its
rich geometric forms. – JJ
candalepas.com.au111