Muslim-backed cultural center would be the first of its kind in NYC

As a way to promote inter-religious coexistence and cultural exchange, the American Society for Muslim Advancement and Buro Koray Duman Architects have collaborated to create a design proposal for an Islamic cultural center, the first Muslim-sponsored multi-faith community center in New York City. According to ArchDaily, the design for the center, called Cordoba House, is based on the historic “Kulliye,” an Ottoman Islamic center, and features a vertical landscape design. It will stretch 100,000 square feet and include recreation, culinary, art, retail and administrative spaces.

The design of the building proposes a glass curtain wall along the perimeter as a vertical public landscape and includes large gathering spaces at its base and destination spaces at the top. Amenity-filled spots accessible to the public, like an auditorium, library and galleries, will sit close to the building’s exterior, with more private areas situated in the core. The design of Cordoba House was meant to create an open, transparent and welcoming space and symbolically represents a bridge between Mecca and New York.

The cultural center’s base includes a prayer center, oriented to face Mecca, and a multi-use hall which will be located below ground level with double heights space visible from the street. Plus, as the center of the building rises, the interior envelope contorts to align with Manhattan’s grid.

According to the design team, the project is necessary because: “There are approximately 800,000 Muslims living in NYC. A majority of the gathering places for Muslims are Mosques that focuses on Religion as Practice, which does not leave enough room for developing Religion as Culture.”

The team behind the Islamic center’s design at Buro Koray Duman Architects won the Best of 2015 Award from the Architect’s Newspaper. Currently, the project is undergoing a fundraising process to acquire the land for the center to be built. Construction is planned to begin in 2020.

[Via ArchDaily]

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All renderings courtesy of Buro Koray Duman