Sharjah Mosque is the second biggest mosque in United Arab Emirates, it is a divine and spiritual architectural icon. Our goal, both a challenge and a pleasure, was to allow our lighting design to preserve and accentuate its architectural and religious values. The main Facade and external lighting concept design was helping to create a dramatic and inviting atmosphere for people and for visitors. The location of the project added a great value since it is built on a small hill and can be seen from long distances.
LED small in size lighting fittings had been used to minimize the physical visibility of the lighting fittings but at the same time impose the lighting affects in a perfect way. Warm and very warm color temperatures LED had been selected to add more divine feelings to the people visiting and praying. Mainly surface mounted linear, floor recessed linear, strip lights and small projector LED lighting fittings in different beam angels were used.
Light and Shade affect was one of the major lighting concepts for the project. This was successfully implemented on the main dome, half domes and the two minarets.
The Rewaq area which is the external main entrance of the Mosque was treated very carefully, all domes were lit using 2700K indirect LED strip which added a great value to the religious decorations painted inside the domes. The arcade columns and arcs were lit using 3000K recessed up lights which created a very dramatic scene on the arcs and column together with the domes above.
The main dome was lit using special LED GOBO adjustable beam 2700K projectors installed one on each minaret. By adjusting the beam angels different lighting affect is created on the dome.
The two tall minarets were lit in a way to create a breathtaking light and shade effect on the walls of different levels of the minarets, this was done using surface mounted 2700K LED linear LED bar installed around the minaret wall leaving space between those LED bars equal to the same length of the LED bar itself. Those LED bars did not only create a beautiful fading light on the minarets wall but also strongly lit the decorative Islamic Mukarnas architectural features projected from the minaret walls.
The overall Façade lighting was done in a way to define each architectural element in the building and try to let those features communicate between each other’s and look more beautiful in night time than day time.
A professional advanced lighting control system were used for the external lighting. Along with saving power consumption and energy, this lighting control system helped to create different lighting scenes on the facades of the mosque. One example id lighting the main dome alone which appears like floating in the space. Other example is to light the main dome with the minarets, and so on. All lighting scenes are programmed and can be used by a press of a button or even from facility management mobile phones.
