The Yellowknife Mosque by Guy Architects Ltd, Yellowknife, N (Photo credit: Ibrahaim Elladen)The dome of the new Yellowknife Mosque designed by Guy Architects, recently completed its framing. While the dome does not possess significance within the mosque, it aims to be a symbolic representation of the vault of heaven.According to R. Wayne Guy, principal of Guy Architects, the Islamic Community wanted the dome to be reflective of the Northwest Territories by acknowledging the land and the people of the region. Inspiration for the dome was taken from the beaver dam, in which interlocking linear wood elements formed its structure. It was also inspired by the eighth century Iberian Islamic tradition of muquarnas. In Islamic architecture, these geometric embellishments are used to symbolize Gods presence.The design team used the technique of intarsia to join pieces of wood to form the design.As traditional muquarnas had conical stalactites that hung from the ceiling, our architectural/structural engineering team used a corbelled structure to replicate this, said architect Wayne Guy. Sprung from the clerestorey drum via the intrados to the skylit oculus, the domes geometry provides perspectival attenuation by a proportional reduction of the size of the triangular tympana as they approach the zenith.Our design team is deeply honored to have participated in this significant project, and we congratulate the Islamic Community on your sustained and tenacious effort to establish this new place of worship.The post Framing complete for dome of new Yellowknife mosque appeared first on Canadian Architect.