Project story · Amman, Jordan
Writing as light
On a hillside in Amman, Masjid Al Noor is a single sweeping shell of pale stone, carved with calligraphy so that the words become the source of light.
By byJOOM · Masjid Al Noor · Civic and cultural
A shell on a hill
Masjid Al Noor is a sculptural mosque for Amman, set on a hillside. A single sweeping shell of pale stone rises over the prayer hall, with a minaret beside it. From a distance it reads as one continuous form, more like a carved landscape than a building, and it has views to the city.
Calligraphic openings
The shell is cut with large calligraphic openings that let light into the prayer hall. In the close views the writing is huge, with its shadows deep, and the stone has the fineness of carved detail. Light enters through the writing, so the words themselves become the decoration and the source of light.
Under the carved ceiling
Inside the hall, a ring of lights hangs under the carved ceiling, and the pierced stone makes a pale lace overhead. The room is calm and vertical, and the floor is a deep blue. A quiet space needs very little: stone, light and the lines of the script.
An entrance that opens to the city
Tall glazing at the entrance opens the building to the city. A court with water leads to it, and the calligraphic stone wall rises beside the glass. A mosque should feel open to its community, and the glazed entrance is the design's way of saying so.
Natural stone, a continuous shell and a design that makes light and writing the main decoration.
For a neighbourhood congregation
The mosque is for a neighbourhood congregation of about fifteen hundred: a large prayer hall, an entrance court with water, a minaret, and ablution and study spaces. It is a building for daily use as well as for the occasions when the whole neighbourhood comes.
Natural stone, a continuous shell
Natural stone, a continuous shell and a design that makes light and writing the main decoration. The design leaves the question of ornament to the sun, and it will be the same each day at the same hour, in the same stone.
This article describes design intention. The images are design visualisations, not photographs of a finished building. See the Disclaimers.