Jeffrey Sipprell

« Istanbul - Day 1, Part 2 | | Minimal Surfaces - The Unfurling »

November 22, 2005

Istanbul - Day 2, Part 1

Sorry for the delay in these posts, but holidays and charrettes being what they are, my free time has been cut short. Anyway, as I've mentioned before, Sinan is considered by many to be the greatest architect that ever practiced in Turkey. He was born just before 1500 and lived until 1588 building many of the significant mosques that dot the landscape of Istanbul and Turkey at large. Suleymaniye is one of two masterpiece mosque complexes that he completed (the other is a few hours west of Istanbul in Edirne).

Sitting at one of the highest points of the city (which wore out our already tired legs), Suleymaniye was Sinan's tribute to the Hagia Sophia - meaning it contained a central dome that also had a similar linear directionality through to the nave. However, there is less geometric noise and cadence to this project than there is in the predecessor we saw before - geometries are cleaner, there are no pressures between systems as everything is subservient to a buildup in mass to the dome.

Still, outside of the beauty that is undenyingly reticent in the central space, there are a number of interesting particularities to the project that occur on the sides. A thickened layer of space is developed on the each flank that contains an upper balcony, but is carved into by the central dome axis pushing through. This creates a larger dome that pushes into the upper balcony space that quite interestingly leads to the creation of a false arch that attempts to keep some level of continuity between the split spaces. I am not sure as to whether the registration of the true structural arch was intentional or not.

Issues of coloration are similar to that of H.S. as there is a strong emphasis on the treatment of edges (though in a much more Baroque form pattern here). The stalactites are quite interesting here as well as they are patterned with a differentiated line thickness which makes them read much differently as has been seen in other mosques.

As far as the exterior is concerned, this is the first mosque that we visited that is a complex, meaning that there are numerous other buildings on site that are comprised of minimal surface roofs that are detached from the mosque. This complex builds up mass as it moves up the hill towards the main central dome. Similar to the Blue Mosque, there is a play of surface between the buttresses
as the facade becomes more porous at places while still registering the weight of elements that are literally or figuratively coming down on top. One point that should be noted here as well is that the buttressing is on three sides on the exterior - sides and back, while on the interior, the buttressing is on the entrance and flanking sides - creating two interlocking 'U' shapes that create an experience whereby the entrance facade and the interior facade that faces Mecca are articulated as very thin and flat.

Overall, a great building and my favorite of Sinan's mosque work. There are a number of issues in terms of massing and coloration that I hope to borrow for my project.

Here are a few more photos:

Dome Detail
Dome Massing
Interior Shot

Posted by jsipprell at November 22, 2005 12:29 PM

Comments