Site Location and Site Conditions:

The mosque forms part of a new high-end residential development comprising 518 single-family homes currently under construction in the expanding district of Karbala — a master plan we also designed for the same client.

Positioned along the northern edge of the central community park, the mosque defines an enclosed public square that acts as a natural extension of the park itself. Conceived as a civic gathering space, the plaza is intended to host religious and cultural celebrations, as well as everyday social activities for the local community.

Along the western edge of the square, a shaded colonnade frames the plaza and incorporates a continuous concrete bench beneath its canopy. This sheltered space is envisioned as a place where men gather after the Friday (Jumu’ah) prayer to socialise, seek Islamic knowledge, or engage in conversations about politics, football, and other shared interests.

To the south, the mosque plaza is bordered by a row of six-metre-high pillars that establish a visual and spatial transition between the square and the adjoining community park. The mosque compound is separated from the public plaza by a secondary colonnade that leads into a small courtyard. From this courtyard, the mosque and its main praying hall can be accessed directly, while a series of ancillary spaces accommodating various functions are arranged around its perimeter. The women’s entrance to the mosque is located on the eastern side of the plaza and provides access to the upper-level women’s prayer gallery.

Client’s Goals:
The project was conceived as both a place of worship and a civic anchor for the emerging residential community in Karbala. The client’s ambition was to create a contemporary mosque that would serve the spiritual, social, and cultural needs of the neighbourhood while remaining deeply rooted in the architectural traditions and symbolic language of the region.

Design Intention:

The vast majority of newly built mosques in the regions surrounding Karbala and Najaf typologically follow the architectural model established by the region’s revered holy shrines — namely the Shrine of Imam Husayn ibn Ali and his half-brother Al-Abbas ibn Ali in Karbala, as well as the Shrine of Ali ibn Abi Talib in Najaf. This architectural language is characterised by a large central onion-shaped dome above the principal hall, flanked by two minarets, each

crowned with a smaller onion-shaped dome.

Although the richly ornamented central dome typically rests on a cylindrical drum punctuated by rows of windows, the interiors are, in most cases, predominantly artificially lit. Preserving the dim, mystical atmosphere of the historic shrines would prove disorienting amid the continuous flow of pilgrims and would only intensify the already overwhelming density and movement within these sacred spaces.

Historically, the interior spaces of mosques have been shaped to heighten atmospheric qualities such as light and shadow, silence, and monumentality in order to evoke a profound spiritual experience. Through these spatial and sensory conditions, worshippers are drawn into a contemplative state that symbolically guides the soul toward the heavens. In our design, we sought to reintroduce these traditional concepts and spatial qualities through a contemporary architectural language and expression.

Formally, the dome departs from the conventional onion-shaped typology. Instead, it is composed of four stacked octagons, each rotated by 22.5 degrees — one sixteenth of a full circle — relative to the octagon below. This gradual rotation generates a complex geometric composition in which octagons, squares, and triangles interlock and overlap. The triangular openings formed between the stacked octagons are glazed, allowing natural light to penetrate deep into the prayer hall and give an atmospheric quality that changes with the time of the day.

The dome is crowned by a small octagonal pyramidal structure containing a glazed oculus that further introduces daylight into the interior and allows solar rays to ignite human aspiration. Historically, the dome has symbolised the celestial realm and the heavens above; here, the skylights and glazed openings make both the sky and divine light physically present within the interior.

Through its unconventional form and densely layered geometry, the dome is intended to convey a sense of transcendence and higher power, while expressing the enduring dialogue between humanity

and the divine.

In Islamic art, geometry, and mystical traditions — particularly within certain currents of Sufism — the octagon is also understood as a symbolic intermediary between the earthly and the celestial realms, representing spiritual transition and ascent. Architecturally, octagonal forms have historically appeared in tomb towers, transitional zones beneath domes, and within muqarnas vaulting, where geometry is used to mediate between square and circular forms.

The octagon — and by extension the number eight — carries a range of symbolic and spiritual associations within Islamic tradition, although it is not regarded as sacred in itself. Its significance is primarily derived from references in the Qur’an and broader Islamic teachings. Among its most notable associations are the eight angels bearing the Throne of Allah, as mentioned in Surah Al-Haqqah (69:17), as well as the eight gates of Paradise described in Islamic tradition.

This architectural language can be found in monuments such as the Mausoleum of Imam al-Dawr, dating from the 11th century, and the Tomb of Yahya Abu al-Qasim from the 13th century — both celebrated for their pure modern-looking geometric forms and intricate geometric compositions before being destroyed by ISIS. Through these historical and symbolic references, the octagon in our design becomes both a geometric device and a metaphysical symbol, reinforcing the mosque’s broader narrative of spiritual elevation and the connection between earth and heaven.

Likewise, the geometry of the single minaret — positioned independently from the mosque building at the north-west corner of the plaza — is derived from the stacking and interlocking of circular and square forms, whose interaction also carries profound symbolic meaning. Within Islamic cosmology and sacred geometry, the circle represents divine unity (tawhid) and the infinite nature of the heavens, while the square, with its four sides and cardinal

orientations, symbolises the earthly and material realm.

More broadly, the dialogue between the circle and the square can also be understood through the relationship between the cubic form of the Kaaba and the circular movement of pilgrims performing Tawaf around it. In this sense, the minaret’s geometry becomes an abstract architectural expression of the connection between the earthly and the divine, the physical and the spiritual.