19066 SOM163

Islamie Cultural Center of New York

Design/Completion 1989/1991 New York, New York. USA

The Islamie Cultural Center of New York Foundation 21,000 square feet Steel frame

Granite. glass, precast concrete and copper dome

The first religious center built for New York’s Muslim community, the Center comprises a mosque, an assembly room, and a minaret. The building is rotated on the site to face Mecca. The facades are nine-square patterns tiiat express the four large structural trusses — a configuration that supports the copper-clad, precast dome and provides a column-free worship hall.

Large glazcd areas with fired ceramic surface decorauons are cnclosed within the metal trusses above the exterior granite walls. The dome rests on 16 articulated metal connccdons enclosed by elear glass, allowing a halo of light to permeate the prayer hall below. The interior is also illuminated by a ring of lights suspended on long bronze rods.

The 15-foot bronze doors open to reveal an abstract arch modf of layers of glass cut in reculinear patterns; modern Kufie inscriptions are carved in granite abovc the doors. Opposite the entry portal is the mihrab, adorned with glass panels and a frieze of Koran verses.

0 2.5 5m

12 24ft

180