Central Mosque Pristina

The proposal deploys the most fundamental principle of the Islamic tradition, namely the sense of unity, to create a new city-level place of worship that can accommodate daily users and a large Friday congregation.

The prayer hall and the accompanying annexe volume – housing cultural and educational activities open up to a plaza with a symbolic minaret. Set on a plinth raised 4 meters from the ground level on northern and western sides, the square can be accessed directly from the main street on the West. The plinth houses shops and a parking garage.

The exterior does not reveal the size of the interior spaces that unfold slowly. The interior layout allows for flexible use of areas without altering the spatial experience.

The main worship space can accommodate up to 2500 people -1500 men and 1000 women – performing their daily prayers. Location of the plaza at the same level facilitates the expansion of its capacity up to a maximum of 6000 during certain religious events. Each gender has its own prayer space accessible directly from the street level. The women go directly to the second level; the men enter from the level of the plaza. The ablution space and the prayer area are separated to ensure that there is no humidity transfer.

The double-hull fenestration system, comprising of metal screens and the vertical glass surfaces act as a thermal barrier between the building inside and outside. It also serves as an acoustic buffer between the prayer hall and the street. Red-pigmented exposed concrete defines both interior and exterior facades. The complex aims to resonate the building features of Balkan region – plain asymmetrically disposed cubic volumes built of stone masonry, with pitched roofs.


Central Mosque, Pristina | date : 2012 | location : Kosovo, Prishtina | surface : 36.925 m2 | team : Madhusudhan Chalasani, Sai Kumar G, Vamsi Kundanam, Mario Galiana Liras, Javier Ugarte Albizu | status : International Architectural Competition