Angelo Candalepas: Australian Islamic Mission documents the Punchbowl Mosque in Western Sydney — winner of the 2018 Sulman Medal for Public Architecture — through four distinct written perspectives spanning faith, architecture, culture, and engineering.
About This Book
The Punchbowl Mosque is a rare thing: a purpose-built, architect-designed place of worship that has earned recognition from both the Australian architectural establishment and international bodies including the RIBA. Designed by Angelo Candalepas and Associates for the Australian Islamic Mission, the project represents a sustained act of cross-cultural collaboration. This monograph resists the conventions of the typical project book by presenting four distinct essays — each written from a different disciplinary position — that together build a portrait of a building that operates simultaneously as sacred space, community act, and structural achievement. Essential reading for architects, academics, and anyone engaged with the intersection of contemporary design and religious architecture in Australia.
Key Features
- 74 pages of project photography, architectural documentation, and critical essays on the Punchbowl Mosque
- Essays by Angelo Candalepas, Adrian Curtin, Dr Zachariah Matthews, and Maryam Gusheh
- Design by Mark Gowing
- Features the Punchbowl Mosque, winner of the 2018 Sulman Medal for Public Architecture
- Published by Uro Publications, 2024
What You'll Discover
- Angelo Candalepas's own account of the phenomenological intentions behind the mosque — and his argument that sacred architecture can move people regardless of their religious beliefs
- Adrian Curtin's technical breakdown of the bespoke concrete engineering used to construct the mosque's 102 quarter-spherical muqarnas, presented as a practical guide for other practitioners
- Dr Zachariah Matthews's account of the Australian Islamic Mission's design brief and the community mobilisation that made construction possible
- Maryam Gusheh's critical essay situating the mosque as a form of contemporary cultural expression for Sydney's Muslim community, drawing on both personal response and architectural criticism
About the Author
Angelo Candalepas is the principal of Candalepas Associates, the Sydney-based practice behind the Punchbowl Mosque. The book also features contributions from Adrian Curtin, Senior Associate at Candalepas Associates; Dr Zachariah Matthews, Vice-President of the Australian Islamic Mission; and Maryam Gusheh, Associate Professor in Architectural Studies at UNSW.
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 74
- Dimensions: 260 x 330 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9780994396648
- Publisher: Uro Publications
- Publication Date: 2024
Perfect For: Architects and students interested in contemporary religious architecture, academics working in architectural criticism or cultural studies, and readers engaged with the built expression of faith communities in Australia.