Redefining of an Interior Space: the Mutallib- Khan Mosque

Mutallib-khan mosque is an abandoned and derelic building in the city of Khoy, north-west of Iran. It was built in 1839 with intentions to Serve as a mosque, in which muslims say their prayers in congregation, and also as a tomb for the proprietor and patron of it, Mutallib-khan himself. But upon his unfortunate demise, the building remained incomplete, and the architect’s work remained undone. without a dome or any kind of roof or closure for about two century, it has been susceptible to any and every kind of damage, ranging from natural predicament to mankind misuses and has always been desolated. The buildings interior space is completely open to the Element and therefore it is fair to say that it does not have an interior space with a quality that house an interior function. On the other hand the very exposure of the building has always been the abode to sun, and daylight has always been present, and this has brought a quality to the space for the past two centuries that has become the quintessence of the building: it’s character. This article studies ways in which it is possible to rehabilitate the building through redefining an interior space. The framework of this studies is divided into four main sections. In the first section the building itself is studied from an architectural and historical point of view. Second section is dedicated to a comparison between two extremes in how to treat a classic building in rebuilding its dome. In the third and fourth section methods and approaches to designing a dome-like shell is studied, in the context of iranian domes and contemproray shells. The outcome of these four sections is a generic proposal of a two layer transluscent dome with an interior geometry of a catenary arch, and an exterior shape of a Chamaneh arch that could be 3D printed directly on the building.