When tasked with illuminating the 120-year-old Al-Akhund Middle School in Najaf, Iraq, Ismael Thamer from the BHA School of Lighting in Cape Town faced unique challenges in preserving its Islamic architectural heritage while implementing modern lighting solutions. Drawing from this recent installation, he shares key strategies for lighting historic structures.
Exploring Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture has a historical extension that Muslims used to create their own identity. This architecture originated in the areas that Muslims reached from the Arabian Peninsula and other areas of East Asia, Turkey, and even North Africa, such as Morocco – plus Andalusia (Spain).
One of the most important models of Islamic architecture is the religious schools. These were distinguished by their unique designs, and we see this through the design of the blocks, where the arches are more receptive to the viewer.
Islamic architecture was also influenced in many areas around the world by the weather, as it often contains open areas (courtyards), and the halls are distributed around the open area, which is an engineering model that allows air and natural light to enter the basements.
Middle Scientific School as a case study
One of the most important models of Islamic architecture is the religious schools, such as the Middle Scientific School (Al-Akhund Middle School in Najaf, Iraq. It is more than 120 years old.
This school is distinguished by its unique design and the open courtyard method. The symmetry of the arches in the entrances to the classrooms has an amazing visual effect that amazes one with the precision and art of mastering this symmetry. Karbala tiles (a material made of cement with water, marble and polishable stones) are used as finishes for the entrances.
Vision in lighting the school
Pendant lanterns were the ideal way to light this type of building at night. Thamer was assigned the task of lighting this edifice, so he decided to make it a prominent edifice that embodies the spirit of architecture and the magic of the effect of the materials used. Since the place currently has a religious heritage character, he used lighting devices in-ground that do not affect the basic heritage structure of the building.
After analysing the building, Thamer found that the matching arches are the basic architectural feature of the place, so his thoughts turned towards illuminating these entrances and arches as the basic idea for the school. He used recessed lighting devices with an appropriate distribution so as not to affect the entry and exit of people into the rooms.
Choosing the colour temperature for the lighting of these materials was another challenge. Thamer’s focus was on illuminating the colours of the Karbala tiles in their true dazzling colours to cheer the soul and achieve the ultimate impression for visitors to the heritage school.
The advantages of LED and modern lighting devices and high-purity lenses are that they can achieve the desired appropriate lighting intensity and uniform distribution at carefully chosen beam angles to achieve these results.
“I am proud of my first heritage project and that I could successfully renew and illuminate the features as a member of a distinguished team,” said Thamer.
** Ismael Thamer is a lighting designer and BHA School of Lighting Advanced Diploma in Illumination Engineering student.