MUQARNAS
STUDIES
Research for the use of muqarnas in contemporary architecture
Application: Villa Muqarnas 1
‘’The muqarnas is one of the key components of Islamic architecture.
...
Islamic art and architecture are characterized by their reliance on decoration and repetition.
...Islamic art is capable of transforming the two-dimensional into the three-dimensional through the repetition and interlacing of patterns. ’’
This study reinterprets one of the most iconic archetypes of Islamic architecture, the Muqarnas. In this series of studies, the modules are scaled up becoming large-scale building components. The "megalithic" modules are used as a composition system to generate mass and void of a building.
The concept of repetition and recombination is inspired by classical Islamic figurative art, strongly characterized by the reconfiguration of graphic signs to obtain elaborate forms, in this case, in a three-dimensional variant. The modules are assembled in a multitude of configurations generating a variety of combinations with surprising architectural qualities.
As a consequence, this modularity leads to efficiency in the design and manufacturing process, with cascading benefits on production and assembly costs.
Nyxo believes this valuable lesson from the past can be applied in a contemporary way, suggesting a whole new path for architecture with an optimized construction cycle while celebrating a topos of the local tradition.
