VISUAL ARCHITECTURE

BADSHAHI MOSQUE LAHORE

BADHSHAHI MOSQUE LAHORE
INTRODUCTION

The great Royal Badshahi Masjid built in 1674 adjacent to

Lahore fort , is the largest in the area of the subcontinent.
General concept of this Mosque is based on the Jami
MASJID outside the fort at Delhi.
Delhi mosque has three entrances but it has a single main
entrance.
JAMI MASJID DELHI
DETAILS OF BADSHAHI MASJID

It has four minaret's on the corner of the

court tall and prominent while those
marking the corners of the prayer
chamber are relatively short .
The Badshahi mosque is elevated on a
high platform.
It approaches from the east end by a
flight of 22 steps which forms three sides of
a pyramids leading up to a platform in
front of a main gateway. The gateway
itself is relatively modest in comparison
with those of the Jami masjid.
It is a two-storeyed structure with a high
central arch.
The flanking bays on either side have a
pair of smaller arched niches placed
vertically one above the other.
At the corner of the square gateway are
four minarets.
The external surface are divided into
panels and are carved into low relief.
The material throughout is red sandstone
with white marble veins , embellished by
an occasional rosette.
Inside the gateway is the vast courtyard of
the mosque . It measures 530 feet square
and is flanked all round by a wall of eighty
cloisters. A change in level defines the two
parts of the courtyard .
 The lower level is called the Fina , where funeral
prayers may be offered , and this also contain the
ablution tank.
 The upper part is further divided into three areas ,
with the central area a step higher than the area
on either side.
 The original floor of the courtyard as well as the
main prayer chamber was paved in small bricks
laid on edge , making a pattern of musallahs or
prayer mats.
The water was carried by an elaborate
drainage system under the courtyard
floor.
Raised above the courtyard in the centre
of the west side is the main prayer
chamber, about 275 feet in length and 85
feet deep.
PLAN AND SECTION OF BADSHAHI
MOSQUE
JAMI MASJID DELHI
 All the three domes with the outer domes raised on cylindrical drums ,
constricted at the necks and crowned by inverted lotus like finials with
gilded pinnacles .
 THE RECTANGULAR BAYS BETWEEN THE DOMES ARE ROOFED WITH DOMICAL
VAULTS WITH CONCAVE MARGINS CALLED QULAMDANI AND WIITH
CENTRAL RIBS,
 THE MARBLE AND STONE FLOOR AND MUCH FRESCO WORK IN THE CEILING
IS LATER REPAIR WORK.
WHAT IS MOSQUE
 MOSQUE IS SACRED BUILDING USED BY MUSLIMS FOR PRAYERS.
 A PLACE OF PROSTRATION OR BOWING DOWN
 MOSQUE INCLUDES
 MIHRAB
 MINBAR
 MINARETS
 ABLUTION FOUNTAIN
 QIBLA WALL
 ARABESQUE
 PRAYER CHAMBER
 COURTYARD
 DOMES
 a gateway to the west, Lahore had a strong regional style which was
heavily influenced by Persian architectural styles. Earlier mosques, such as
the Wazir Khan Mosque, were adorned in intricate kashi Kari,
or Kashan style tile work from which the Bad shahi Mosque would depart.
Aurangzeb chose an architectural plan similar to that of Shah
Jehan'schoice for the Jami Masjid in Delhi, though built the Badshahi
mosque on a much larger scale. Both mosques feature red sandstone with
white marble inlay, which is a departure from typical mosque design in
Lahore, in which decoration is done by means of intricate tile work.