Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır Mosque
Mosque architecture carries the weight of a long architectural tradition shaped by established forms and iconography. These conventions often overshadow the relationship between the building and its place. Yet the enduring quality of many historic mosques lies not in their formal language alone, but in the way the prayer hall, courtyard, porticoes, madrasa and charitable facilities come together as part of the city and its landscape. Rather than reproducing historical forms, the project looks beyond them and reconsiders the spatial qualities that have made these complexes meaningful over time.
The complex, consisting of a mosque and an imam's residence, replaces buildings that were demolished due to their insufficient earthquake resistance. Located in a densely built neighbourhood of Pendik, the site is bordered by schools on two sides. The previous arrangement of the mosque, residence and courtyard already functioned as one of the few shared public spaces within the neighbourhood. The project preserves this relationship while extending it through new public areas created by the park on the qibla side and the site's changing topography.
The mosque, imam's residence, ablution fountain, tea house, library and multipurpose hall are organised around a central courtyard that remains open to the neighbourhood. At the lower level, the library and hall extend directly towards the park, while a continuous sequence of porticoes ties the different elements together. Simple geometric volumes and repetitive arcades establish a calm and restrained architectural language within the dense urban fabric. Brick, with its archaic character and tactile quality, reinforces the timeless presence of the ensemble.
The interior derives its quiet atmosphere from the natural texture of küfeki limestone. A secondary perforated brick screen placed in front of the qibla wall filters daylight into the prayer hall. As light passes through the openings and moves across the brick surfaces, it creates a subtle and contemplative interior. A dramatic double-height space, which also accommodates the entrances to the library and multipurpose hall, preserves the privacy of the mihrab wall.
The dome, one of the defining elements of mosque architecture, is reinterpreted as a series of skylights that introduce daylight deep into the prayer hall. The women's prayer gallery occupies the upper level in a U-shaped configuration, extending towards the qibla wall and strengthening the spatial continuity of the interior.
