The mosque of Medina was extended by a renowned architecture agency in Bordeaux, France. The agency, then, reached out to the designer Younes Duret to design architectural elements that would allow visitors to have access to the fountains that have “Zemzem” water as well as storage for their shoes.
Younes Duret was mandated to imagine bookshelves destined to receive Qurans. Architectural elements were modified and added to the existing structure. The new elements were created to fit at a human scale. These modifications create a contrast between the new structure and the grandiose existing Mosque.
The exterior of the structure becomes a significant aesthetic element whereas the interior portrays convenience by being very user-friendly.
In addition to the work done on a human scale, the aim of the project was to make the existing volumes more aesthetic as they were lacking decoration.
The space is divided into multiple sections with different textures and colors. The ground is made out of a sand color marble that represents the desert. The central part, that symbolizes the water and the air bringing people back to life, represents the holy water made out of white marble that evokes spirituality and purity. Finally, A beautiful green granite symbolizing Islam was chosen for the shelf destined for the Qurans.
