All-Glass Dome for Mosque in Haarlem

Abstract

The architect Fedde Reeskamp, from the ‘Architectenkamer’ in Haarlem had designed a mosque for the client ‘Islamitische Stichting Nederland Selimiye’ in Haarlem. The design consists of a blockwork mosque with a dome on top, visually apparent in silhouette of the mosque. He came with this enquiry for a dome to Octatube. The contrast between the solid building block-shape and the dome on top led to the suggestion to have the dome made in glass, out of its extreme contrast. Octatube designed a self-supporting dome of solely insulated glass panels, without any frame or structure. Thanks to a hidden tensile system with corner joints, the complete dome is a reliable structure of glass and tensile spokes.