Islamic Architecture

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the origins of the distinctly Islamic architectural style. The paper begins by discussing Islamic history and then goes on to discuss how Islamic architecture has set a standard for religious architecture that has influenced other religious groups and contributed to various architectural styles evident to this day. Additionally, the paper also discusses how Islamic architecture has more recently been influenced by the West, not for religious architecture, but for office buildings and residential units.

From the Paper:

"In the Islamic tradition, the idea of the dome was developed with religious connotations. The first centralized Ottoman mosque was created at Diyarbakir in 1521 with four semi-domes and not mere vaults. The four corner areas are surmounted by four small cupolas, while the central dome is supported on four piers. This is the logical conclusion to the mosques of earlier times. The squareness of the mosque at human level represents earthliness, and the domes represent the heavens, much as the square and the circle do in Chinese architecture. The two-centered arch forms a spiritual limbo in the design. The interior is spacious and well-lit, another reference to the heavens (Goodwin 178)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Arkoun, Mohammed. Rethinking Islam. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1994.
• Boyd, Andrew, Andrew Carden, H. R. Hitchcock, John Jacobus, Seton Lloyd, Norbert Lynton, Philip Rawson, and David Talbot Rice. World Architecture: An Illustrated History. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963.
• Farah, Caesar A. Islam: Beliefs and Observances. New York: Barron's, 1987.
• Giedion, Sigfried. Space, Time and Architecture. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1967.
• Goodwin, Godfrey. A History of Ottoman Architecture. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1971.

More papers on Islamic Architecture:

• Term Paper # 131354 : "Islamic Architecture: A Brief History"
• Term Paper # 101351 : "Islamic Architecture and Structures"
• Essay # 41548 : "Islamic Architecture"

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