Located in the recently renovated down town of Beirut, the Al Omari Mosque is the last existing crusader monument, first built as a church by the crusades in 1110 AD, later turned into a mosque by the Mamluks. In the larger scope of renovating all religious and historical monuments of downtown Beirut, the Al Omari Mosque is currently undergoing a restoration and an extension. The restoration respects the building age and original character, while the new additions, which are needed to fulfill the growing needs, use a contemporary architectural language.
The extension consists mainly of an open air courtyard surrounded by a gallery which acts both as a circulation space and a buffer zone between the mosque and the urban surrounding. The external wall of the gallery is made of a marble mashrabieh, allowing air and light in and yet preserving the visual privacy of the haram of the mosque.
During the foundations excavation, a basement located in the mosque’s courtyard was found: it was revealed to be the water tank of xth century Beirut, and is being rehabilitated into a Koran museum. On the same level and still under the courtyard, a new basement is created, housing a public auditorium on one side of the museum and the spaces for ablution on the other. A new minaret, higher than the existing, is strategically located in the corner of the courtyard, at the street intersection. The minaret stairway, besides leading to the top of the minaret in an ever-narrower spiral, links the ground level to the basement level (auditorium and museum). A more private stair from within the mosque, leads to the ablution spaces.
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BEIRUT
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