ISLAMIC CULTURAL CENTRE,

CALICUT
MOHAMED ANSIF ANWAR
HIANEBC025
• A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or
complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be
neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities,
government-sponsored, or activist-run

• A heritage centre (or heritage center) is a museum facility primarily

dedicated to the presentation of historical and cultural information
about a place and its people, including, to some degree, natural
features. Heritage centers typically differ from most traditional
museums in usually featuring a high proportion of "hands-on"
exhibits and live or lifelike specimens and practical artifacts
 INTRODUCTION
• Kerala has a very ancient relation with the middle east even during the
Pre-Islamic period.
• Arabs traded with the Malabar Coast from the earliest times. Their
knowledge of the monsoons, and celestial observation gave them the
advantage over the sea. The trade through the Indian Ocean not only
brought many civilization in contact but also led to cultural exchanges,
adaptations and influences. The trade relation of Arabs with Calicut
(Kozhikode) the port town of Zamorins led to an interlinks between two
cultures : Arab and Nairs of Kerala.
• This connection gave birth to a community known as Mappila Muslims or
Koyas as they are known in Calicut and settled at the southwest quarter of
the town which is known as Kuttichira/ Thekepuram and still remains the
oldest part of the city of Calicut.
 NEED OF THE PROJECT
• Built in 629 AD, it is the first mosque in India. It was built by Malik Dinar, an Arab propagator of Islam.
• Kuttichira, a Muslim settlement in the coastal region of Kozhikode tracing its origins to ancient times with
flourishing international trade, has a unique construction style for houses, commercial facilities and places
of worship.
• Kutchi Muslims, better known as Kutchi Memons, form another migrant group that has contributed much to
the social and economic life of Mattancherry. All these rich culture and heritage is not emphasised in a
public platform
• At present, there is no relevant platform for showcasing the rich Islamic culture and architecture of the
state.
• The heritage and architectural value of the ancient settlement of Kuttichira is not being utilised on a tourism
basis.
• The current trend of nuclear family split ups have created lot of vacant spaces in existing tharavad
structures, The new generations are not aware of the rich heritage value of the buildings and prefer
implementing contemporary styles to these structures.
SITE
 Site

The site is located adjacent to the existing railway colony,

which is presently left abandoned and well connected to all
major nodes of the city. Its located 25.9 kms from Calicut
international airport and just in vicinity of railway station
Site Feasibility
Kuttichira is a place of historical importance it was the main square in
the calicut urban area from 14 th century. There are
several mosques around the place which is formed
around a tank. The construction of the mosques here are
all based on traditional timber construction with tiered
roofs.
Two ancient mosques, Muchundi Mosque and Mishkal Mosque are
used as private places of worship.
The Big Bazar, one of the oldest and biggest trading lanes in Malabar is
located here.
Thekkepuram beach and the Port Light House are easily accessible from
this place.
The space around the tank is the most lively zone of the area, buzzing
with activities throughout the day
The streets turns into food joints, mainly around the kutichira pond, in
the evenings.
The unique cuisine has a great influence in tourism of Calicut.
The area is also famous for its halwa production, and there is a bazar
named after this unique sweet.
 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS
• A platform that showcases the history, cultural aspects, local arts and craft, thus enhancing
the Islamic cultural values of Kerala and improving the knowledge of Islam in the state.
• To enhance and conserve the heritage values of Kuttichira by bringing up native public
participation and interaction with the the project and help them in providing a source of
income.
• Development of existing structures and use them as for home stay facility for the tourists in
the traditional town.
• Calicut city attracts a lot of local and national tourists. The city is considered as the capital of
Malabar region in both trade and tourism and is active throughout the year.
• The traditional SOUQ concept : a traditional street market space for the sale of crafts, food
and spices of the heritage value. This would also act as a income generator.
• Performance spaces to showcase traditional art forms.
• The street study for providing a heritage walk proposal can be limited to analysing the
importance of buildings and proposing the best loop route possible.
LITERATURE CASE STUDIES
 Da Chang Muslim Cultural Center

· Architects
Architectural Design & Research Institute of SCUT
· Location
Dachang County, Hebei Province, China
· Principal Architect
He Jingtang
· Area
35000.0 m2
· Project Year
2015
• Dachang County is a Muslim enclave near Beijing. To revive the Islamic culture and
improve the quality of culture life, the local government developed Da Chang
Muslim Cultural Center, a cultural complex integrating the functions of theatre,
exhibition, convention and community center.
• Located in Dachang Hui Autonomous County, Langfang, Hebei province, the
project is supposed by the local government to be an iconic design, introducing
Dachang’s particular culture and enhancing the soft power of the city.
• The national palace is thus endowed with multiple functions, serving not only as
the recreation center of the city, but the essential cultural site for the introduction
of local religion and history as well.
• It has undoubtedly brought lots of challenges to the designer, because of the
special ethnic composition, historical context, religious belief, complex functional
requirements of the site and the setting of a cultural landmark.
The Klinker Cultural Centre, Winschoten
Architects
Atelier Pro

Location
Meester D.U. Stikkerlaan, Winschoten, The Netherlands

Architect in Charge
Dorte Kristensen, Lisette Plouvier, Eelko Bemener

Interior Architect
Lisette Plouvier

Area
8125.0 m2

Project Year
2015
• Its central location in Winschoten makes it easily accessible to the
residents who can enjoy the cultural offerings of the theatre, arts centre,
radio studio and library, or savour a coffee in the theatre café. In this
way, residents themselves actively contribute to their city’s cultural life.
•
The striking carved exterior of the centre is designed without front or back
facades in order to better engage its surroundings on all sides. This also
maximises and accentuates its footprint on the site, while the gentle
angles of the continuous facade play with the laws of perspective and
shorten visual distances.
• The horizontal sections, curved edges and overhangs recall 1920s
Expressionist architecture in Groningen. The building anchors itself
in Winschoten by echoing the morphology of its surroundings. It functions
as a juncture between the small-scale buildings of the historic inner city
and the larger scale of post-war developments and renovations.
 GROUND
SITE PLAN FLOOR PLAN
FIRST FLOOR PLAN SECOND FLOOR PLAN
 THE MOSQUE AND ISLAMIC CULTURAL
CENTRE OF ROME, ITALY
• Architects- Paolo Portoghesi, Sami Mousawi , Vittorio
Gigliotti
• • Client-Islamic Cultural Centre of Italy
• • Location - Rome, Italy
• • Design-1976
• • Completed-1992-1995
• • Site- 29,915 m2
• • Ground floor- 6050 m2 + rivaq- 3116 m2
• • Total floor-19708m2
• Facilities
• • Prayer hall - 2500 worshippers of
• whom 500 would be females
• • Smaller prayer hall -150
• worshippers,
• • Educational section
• • Library
• • Classrooms
• • Conference
• • Auditorium- 400 people
• • Exhibition area
• • Two residential sections-for Imam of
• the Mosque and the visitors.
1. MAIN PRAYER HALL 5. RECEPTION HALL.
2. MINARET 6. ISLAMIC LIBRARY
3. DAILY PRAYER HALL 7. CONFERENCE HALL.
4. ISLAMIC CULTURAL 8. MEETING ROOMS &
MUSEUM.
CENTRE
9. FOUNTAIN
1. SUHAN SECTION
2. MULTI PURPOSE
HALL
3. CONFERENCE HALL
4. PARKING

WEST ELEVATION
 The piazza of the Islamic Centre is along the
main approach
from the north. The domed volume of the
prayer hall is seen on
the left. To the right, steps lead to the
cultural Centre.

The main entrance is through one of the

three courtyard
spaces formed between the two, two-storey
rectangular
wings which make up the H-block. The
staircase leads to
the reception hall.
 The web-like rib which highlights the
underside of the central dome during
construction. It was built using both pre-
cast and cast-in-situ elements. Unlike the
columns which support it, the ribs are
purely decorative.

The Approach
 Analysis
• The project is a synthesis of elements that are derived from historic
references of Islamic, roman, and baroque architecture. the incorporation
of
• these elements into unified whole results in a unique landmark that speaks
to the Islamic and western worlds.
• It has vast open area by through we are entering gives whole view of the
building.
• Library space and museum is placed away from prayer hall thus preventing
the noise to prayer hall.
• Cultural Centre, library and museum have separate entries and are
connected helping for space utilization.
• Natural light is available since it has large courtyard.
KMBR RULES
> The proposal comes under Group D in KPBR. Group D consists of Assembly building
shall include any building or part of a building exceeding 150 sq, meters of floor area
where people congregate or gather for amusement recreation social, religious
Patriotic, political, civil, travel and similar purposes.

 Floor Area Ratio (FAR) : 0.70

Set backs that must be provided for group D building that exceeds 800sqm is:
• Front Average 10.5m with minimum 6 m
• Sides Average 5m each with minimum 1.5 m
• Rear Average 4.5m with minimum 2 m
Parking, loading and unloading spaces
each off street parking motor cars shall be not be less than 15 sq.m area (5.5
m x 2.7 m ).
- in case of wedding halls, and community halls for calculating the carpet area
or seating accommodation, for the purpose of parking area, the carpet
area of either the auditorium or dining hall, whichever is higher, alone
need to be taken.
- for the purpose of this rule 1.5 sq.m carpet area shall be considered as one
seating accommodation.
two wheeler parking
25% of that area shall be provided additionally for parking scooters or cycle.
Assembly occupancy every building up to 10 m height under assembly occupancy shall have the minimum open
yard as shown below:

• the height of rooms in assembly occupancy buildings shall be minimum 4 m.

• provided that in the case of air conditioned auditoriums/halls it shall be minimum 3 m.
• the clear head room beneath or above the mezzanine or balcony shall be not less than 3 m.
• the height of store room, toilets, lumber and cellar rooms shall be not less than 2.4 m.
• balconies or galleries or mezzanines shall be restricted to 25 percent of the total carpet area of assembly
hall area.

Staircase
- any building having more than for floors including basement or sunken floors, shall have at least two
staircases, one of which may e an external stairway.
- the minimum width of stair shall be not less than 1.2 m.
the minimum width of tread shall be 30 cms.
the width of passages giving access to the staircase in any building shall not at any point , be less than the
width of the stair.

Ramps
ramps if provided as a substitute for stairways shall be laid with a slope not exceeding 1 in 10 and such ramp
shall comply with all requirements of a stairway and shall be surfaced with approved non-slippery
materials.
Corridor, verandahs and passageways
theclear width of any corridor, verandah or passageway in any building shall not be
less than 1 m at any point.

Fire escape staircase

- fire escape stair case shall e provided for every buildings of
- residential occupancies exceeding three stories above ground level.
- occupancies other than residential exceeding two storeys above ground level.
-the width of the fire escape staircase shall be not less than 75 cm, the width of treadd
shall not be less than 15 cm, height of riser not exceeding 19 cm, number of riser
not exceeding 16 per flight.
- the height of handrail not less than 100 cm.
THE SENSE OF LIGHT

Light is an important parameter for humans to sense

and perceive the spaces surrounding them, and the
character of the light in a given space can be seen to
influence our mood and wellbeing.

Light describes our

environments-and light and shadow tell us about
form, materials, texture, rhythm and history. To design
buildings is to work with form and light.
Jali

An ornamental screen, or jali, is a prominent

feature of Islamic architecture and
mediates the amount of sunlight that
enters a space.
Jali is a delicately carved latticed screen that
also exemplifies the use of the ornament in
Islamic art and architecture.
The ornamental designs of these screens strike
similar patterns as calligraphy, one of the
chief features of Islamic sacred decoration.
Jalis are important on a practical level, as they
filter out strong sunlight and keep spaces
cool, which is ever important in the Middle
East's harsh sun.
Surface Decoration
The use of light in Islamic architecture creates a play
at light and shadow that shapes the interiors of
buildings. For example, screens not only act as
ornamental decorations and keep spaces cool,
but the shadows created by a jali weave intricate
patterns through rooms and corridors. The
materiality of a building comes to life more
vividly: carved stucco, stonework and brickwork
are illuminated and emphasized by natural light.
Domes
In Islamic architecture, light also plays a critical
role in creating balance and harmony in
mosques and other buildings.
In particular, the use of circular domes,
prominent in mosques, transformed more
cramped, dimly lit religious chambers into
vast interiors that have a weightless quality.
This weightlessness is enhanced by the use of
numerous windows on domes, which allow
natural light to pour through and create
lighting effects on the dome ceilings, as well
as accent and emphasize different parts of
the interior surfaces.