Religious space

Al-Kareem Mosque

Nested in a rural paddy field in Garut, West Java, an open-air verandah welcomes people to this homely mosque. Opening to both the north and south access to the religious complex, the verandah encloses a cuboid praying room with a modern minaret attached to it.

Built with earthen-toned concrete and structured with slender steels, this mosque renounces all splendor to honor the magnificent landscape made visible with its open-air foyer, pathways, and transparent praying room.

Symbolism exists subtly on the geometrical Islamic pattern covering the ceiling of the glass-box praying room while Arabic inscriptions are embedded on the southern part of the mosque’s exterior.

At the end of this inscription, a modest house sits at the southernmost part of the mosque paved with a modern pond, providing quietude and privacy to its residents.