Great Mosque Algiers, Algeria

In the Bay of Algiers, a fascinating religious space has taken shape: the world's third biggest mosque after Mecca and Medina. Its creation was a combined effort by architects, engineers, and construction workers from three different cultural spheres – Europe, Africa and China.

With the specific origin of the typology of a great mosque as a public space and an educational institution, the Great Mosque of Algiers will serve as a driving force for a new city district and hopefully for a great leap forward for local society. The 600-meter-long complex – rather like the center of a town – includes a library, a theological college and a dormitory for 300 students, a museum with a research center, a congress center, a fire station and a cinema complex.

Among to its functions as a new social center and urban impulse generator, the mosque cleverly combines Maghreb tradition and European modernity to form a coherent whole.

The structure of the tower’s shaft and the façade can be seen as a multifaceted and symbolic shape that references the Koran and the principles underlying Islam – the Five Pillars of Islam. Some are clad with latticework featuring a restrained design known as mashrabiya, which acts as a shading element. Positioned between these decorated areas, and in notable contrast to them, are the glazed sections of the total of five viewing levels (sky lobbies).

They act as open halls, vantage points or places for visitors to linger. At the same time, they act as distribution concourses for the various different profane uses. As a hybrid high-rise, the minaret has a dynamic public role, e.g., it is home to a Museum of Islamic Art and History and boasts a viewing platform in its glasscovered tip. Furthermore, the tower also houses administrative functions and is home to a research center.