FIVE DAILY AS FIVE LIGHT STORIES:
WHITE MOSQUE IN VISOKO

Šerefuddin’s Mosque (or White Mosque) in Visoko (conceptual design 1969 – implementation 1979) is an outstanding example of creative and original transformation of basic postulates of shaping the traditional Bosnian mosque into the language of contemporary architecture. It is a project of academician Zlatko Ugljen awarded with Aga Khan Award for Architecture (1983) – the most prestigious award in the area of contemporary Islamic architecture – and cited in all the relevant reviews of contemporary architecture. The mosque superbly thematizes the dynamic relationship between tradition and contemporaneity, which was initiated by launching this significant, triennial award: “…how could Islamic architecture embrace more fully the values of cultural continuity, while also addressing the needs and aspirations of rapidly changing societies?” (H. H. Aga Khan, 2013).

The basic formative motif of the mosque is derived from a fragment of the pyramid, with a slight incline toward Mecca, following the movement of believers during the prayer. Through five zenithal openings through which light enters, five different experiences of light are created during the day, at the time of the five daily prayers. At the same time, the five openings symbolize the five pillars of Islam and the five daily prayers. It is on the project of the White Mosque that academician Ugljen discovered inexhaustible possibilities of shaping the space by means of light and shade, which dematerialize the strong structure of reinforced concrete and contribute to the experience of the Sacred through the medium of architecture. According to the commendation of the jury of Aga Khan Award, it is a dynamic application of the principles of asymmetry, contrast and formative unity. Pure, regular geometric shapes asymmetrically alternate with curved, spherical forms, and the experience of the interior is defined through emphasized contrasts between dark and brightly lit spaces.   

In this project, academician Ugljen opened the traditional domed forms of Bosnian mosques, which can fit into the form of a pyramid, to a dynamic reinterpretation, starting exactly from a fragment of the pyramid. At the same time, dimensions and shape of the mosque are also in line with ambiental values of the marketplace, as well as with hilly forms of the surrounding landscape.

References:

• His Highness the Aga Khan, The Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2013 Ceremony, Lisbon, September 2013, Address at the ceremony of award presentation.