The initial assignment was to create a building to host a cultural center for the Islamic community with the premise of it being conceived under a modular logic, and therefore capable of being reproduced in series in case the other islamic communities in Spain should request it. Thus, this proposal for Alicante, would be the pilot for a nationwide production. Exceptionally,a cemetery and funeral service building associated to it, were added to this initial assignment. The projected set is made up by two buildings and the cemetery space, which is conceived as a linear garden. The buildings, the Islamic Cultural Center (ICC) and the Building for Funeral Use (UF) are arranged in a manner so that they are facing each other and separated by a public space, a parking space with a dense palm grove which acts as a filter between the two.

Adjacent to this set, is the cemetery which is a rectangular array of burials oriented to the Mecca and orange trees, separated by a wall and a linear palm large in size in comparison to the rest of the set.

A key element of the building, which is a feature common to any possible location is the relationship established with the sky as the universal element, either through patios or skylights of different shapes and functions. In this sense, the limited number of holes outside the building speaks of the desire to become a safe harbor of environmental conditions, creating a consistent interior environment with the proposed activities.

Regarding the proposal for the Islamic Cultural Center, this is conceived under the criteria of functionality, modularity, flexibility and adaptability to various locations, and this is solved by modular, prefabricated and dry joint construction systems. Also, the inescapable reference to Islamic architecture is produced by referring to various invariants, both formal and organizational, that here are reinterpreted to suit the practical and constructive logic that the center demands.

Flexibility is key in the CCI, taking into account the variety of uses that can accommodate the center and the possible evolution of future needs.  Two key areas are defined: for religious use (mosque) and for secular use (other activities), which are connected to each other but separated by a large courtyard:Access to the building is produced by one of its ends and along its route a gradual transition is made from the public to the private, from the earthly to the transcendent in which the administrative, commercial, recreational and research uses can be found.  The prayer hall is at the end of this path and it is to be understood as the highlight of it all. In it, and once surpassed the courtyard space, the faithful, separated by gender, access the corresponding spaces for footwear and ablutions, and then move on into the prayer hall.  A space dominated by a profusely shed roof that seems to float above the room, thanks to the natural and soft lighting that provides a series of skylights formally inspired by the geometry of the arabesques, and reflects the spirituality of this space.

Department: Architectural Services

Title: Islamic Cultural Centre and Cemetery

Location: Alicante

Year: 2007

Area: 3.005,49 m2

Budget:   2.652.668,11 euros

Client: Spain Viva Gestión Urbanística SL

Type: Commission

Status: Design

Project Architect: José Antonio Cantó Hidalgo