What is a mosque? ARD––ground, earth, or land––proposes to reimagine the urban mosque of Islamberg as an outdoor landscape that transforms throughout the seasons. The studies of the terrain and the existing unfinished mosque translate into three proposed journeys of a mosque corresponding to geological conditions of the site: jabal (mountain), kahf (cave), and maa (water). A network of prayer spaces is formed with weaved programs in between, creating a total of 12 explored typologies through topography manipulation, water redirection, inserted limestone sourced from the local quarry, mud-brick structures, and planted landscape features. Those have the ability to host additional programs that enrich spiritual life, health of the land, and community activities, understanding that there are other ways of mysticism in religious architecture. The interstitial programs strengthen each field as a network and activate it on a daily use. Following Sufi beliefs, this sacred network of interventions through the default spiritual creates additional interfaces with the natural environment with land care and community empowerment. With these interventions, navigating through the landscape becomes a collective experience, deeply connecting to the land and empowering the community. By fragmenting the mosque and dispersing it through the landscape in different scales, land care becomes part of the spiritual journey to reconstruct their natural environment over time and offer new discoveries of sacredness and spirituality.
