An Australian architecture firm Candalepas Associates has completed ‘Punchbowl Mosque’, a concrete masterpiece located in Sydney’s southwest; a project 20 years in the making. The mosque’s extraordinary design has been compared to Brutalism, in particular because of its use of raw concrete as the primary material.
An Australian architecture firm Candalepas Associates has completed ‘Punchbowl Mosque’, a concrete masterpiece located in Sydney’s southwest; a project 20 years in the making. The mosque’s extraordinary design has been compared to Brutalism, in particular because of its use of raw concrete as the primary material.
Lead architect Angelo Candalepas was first commissioned to design the mosque in the mid-1990s by the non-profit organization, Australian Islamic Mission (AIM).
The geometric interior of the contemporary building houses a main space for prayer, which occurs against a backdrop of concrete volumes with timber accents.
Layered slabs of concrete precede a timber-lined roof with a small skylight that lets in natural light. An impressive feature of the mosque is its 99 concrete-cast concave domes that step up two of the interior walls in rows, which, through the skylight, introduce an interplay of light and shadow. The juxtaposition of the curved forms and flat edges break down the scale of the venue.
