The project focuses on landscape design of sacred and religious places.The chosen case studies include man made as well as a natural example where landscape is woven with religion.
Sancaklar mosque located in Istanbul constructed by Emre Arolat architects mainly talks about the essence of the space within the mosque rather than the traditional form.The structure which is earth bearmed from one side uses light as the major element to invoke the feeling of transcendence in a fairly dark place.The slope of the land is used to constructed two courtyards;upper and lower via steps which merge into the surrounding landscape.The main prayer hall has a black wall with calligraphy lit up with natural light.There is no direct vision of the outside world when one enters the mosque.
The construction of the mosque took place with the thought of giving it an organic form and using the topography of the land around.After taking the permissions from specific authorities of Turkey and approaching different consultants,the mosque was built with basic planar geometry and was completed in the year 2014.
Sacred Groves are any groves of trees which are of special religious importance to a particular culture.They are generally protected by a particular community of village.There are certain tangible as well as intangible aspects which add the sacredness to a particular place.The Mawphalang sacred grove in Meghalaya is surrounded by bare grasslands and have a series of monolithic stones at the entrance which are also worshipped by the communities around.Dodona sacred grove situated in Greece used to have wooden chimes in olden times.The sacred grove situated in Ambaji evolved with time from being one tree which was worshipped by the villagers to an actual structure with idols.