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ARCHIFYNOW > PROJECT > RADar Develops an Environmentally Friendly Community Mosque with a Porous Envelope

RAD+ar Develops an Environmentally Friendly Community Mosque with a Porous Envelope

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Location
Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia
Completion Date
2020
Site Area
1340 sqm
Gross Floor Area
1200 sqm
Architecture Firm
Principal Architect
Antonius Richard
Design Team
Partogi Pandiangan, Leviandri, Howard Benaya, Felda Zakri, Daniel Soesanto
Collaborator
Handri Winata
Civil, Structural, and M&E Engineer
PT. Kaliabang Jaya Pratama
General Contractor
PT. Kaliabang Jaya Pratama
Photographer
Arti Pictures
Products
Dekkson, TOTO, Quadra, Asahimas
VIEW PROJECT

From the outside, Bioclimatic Community Mosque of Pamulang does not display any common features of a typical Indonesian mosque. Instead of a minaret or a dome, this building is distinguished by the two-coloured stacked porous façade, topped with a massive vessel-shaped roof. This mosque is located within a university complex, serving as a place of worship and a community centre for the campus’ communities and the surrounding neighbourhoods.

RAD+ar Develops an Environmentally Friendly Community Mosque with a Porous Envelope

©Arti Pictures

The architecture firm, RAD+ar, tries a different approach in designing this mosque by focusing on the provision of energy-efficient, sustainable, and impactful space. This approach directly touches on how the building reacts to its environment. With its location being in the tropics, the main concern is to provide a cool interior without any use of air conditioning units.

RAD+ar Develops an Environmentally Friendly Community Mosque with a Porous Envelope

©Arti Pictures

To achieve the ideal thermal comfort, the mosque is designed to be breathable and light. The building exterior is mostly enveloped with perforated blocks, while the interior features several voids and has minimal solid partitioning. This allows constant air circulation throughout the building. At the top of the mosque, a massive vessel-like green roof hovers above the interior, leaving enough gap for hotter air from the inside to escape and at the same time providing adequate insulation from the sun’s heat.

RAD+ar Develops an Environmentally Friendly Community Mosque with a Porous Envelope

©Arti Pictures

RAD+ar Develops an Environmentally Friendly Community Mosque with a Porous Envelope

©Arti Pictures

Aside from creating cross ventilation within the building, RAD+ar also utilises natural lighting by arranging numbers of skylight that almost eliminate the needs of additional lighting during the day. While the skylights on the building’s perimeter area are made of the usual rectangular openings, those above the prayer rooms come with a circular shape. The visual of these circular skylights are quite interesting as they are not only functional but could also stimulate and symbolise the presence of a dome of which this mosque is lacking.

RAD+ar Develops an Environmentally Friendly Community Mosque with a Porous Envelope

©Arti Pictures

RAD+ar Develops an Environmentally Friendly Community Mosque with a Porous Envelope

©Arti Pictures

Although some expected elements are absent, Bioclimatic Community Mosque of Pamulang has the potentials to elevate other values of a religious space. One example is the sense of inclusivity, especially looking at how the building’s envelope is porous instead of enclosed, and the fact that the perforated blocks are locally sourced and manufactured. Beyond that, the interior’s constant airflow also helps to represent this mosque being a safer place of worship even in the middle of the Covid-19 situation. 

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ArchifyNow is an online design media that focuses on bringing quality updates of architecture and interior design in Indonesia and Asia Pacific. ArchifyNow curates worthwhile design stories that is expected to enrich the practice of design professionals while introducing applicable design tips and ideas to the public.
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