This focus work is offered in collaboration with the Swiss Center for Islam and Society (SZIG) at the University of Fribourg, Prof. Dr. Hansjörg Schmid.
Mosques are now part of Switzerland’s religious and cultural landscape. While most of the approximately 250 Muslim prayer spaces are located in existing industrial, commercial, or administrative buildings and are barely perceptible in the public realm, some mosques deliberately establish a visible presence through their architectural design. Domes, minarets, façade treatments, and other architectural features give these buildings a distinct presence, expressing both religious identity and social integration. At the same time, they reflect the negotiation processes involved in their development: between tradition and the present, and between the needs of Muslim communities and the spatial, political, and social conditions of their respective locations.
Despite their significance, the architectural and urban qualities of these buildings have so far received only limited attention. Public and academic debates have often focused on questions of integration, the organisational structures of Muslim communities, or political controversies surrounding visible religious architecture. The mosques themselves as buildings—their spatial concepts, architectural expression, and integration into the urban context—have, by contrast, remained largely overlooked.
The aim of this focus work is to develop a systematic documentation of externally recognisable mosques in Switzerland. The focus will be on short architectural portraits of the individual buildings, describing their development history, spatial organisation, architectural design, and urban context. Complemented by photographic documentation and an analysis of selected design elements, the study will examine how Muslim communities spatially express their religious and social needs, and what role mosques play as places of identification, encounter, and social visibility.
The work will include in particular:
– Short written portraits of externally recognisable mosques in Switzerland
– Research into the development and history of use of the buildings
– Documentation of their architectural design and spatial organisation
– Analysis of their urban positioning and integration into the surrounding context
– Photographic documentation of the mosques on site
– Identification of typologies, similarities, and differences
– Assessment of the mosques as part of contemporary architectural culture