Muqarnas (مقرنس) is a traditional Islamic and Persian architectural style of decoration. Islamic architecture is the entire range of architecture that has evolved from Islam as a social, cultural, political and religious phenomenon. ... The Baháí House of Worship by Fariborz Sahba, also known as the Lotus Temple. ...
It usually consists of three-dimensional wedge forms that are combined into intricate designs to create honeycomb patterns on walls, vaults, and domes. In architecture, a vault is an arched structure of masonry, forming a ceiling or canopy. ... St Peters Basilica, Rome A dome is a common structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. ...
External Sources
Muqarnas : A Three-Dimentional Decoration of Islam Architecture.
The muqarnas, a Muslim variety of stalactite vault, is a primary characteristic of Islamic architecture.
The muqarnas is a form that embodies the ideals of Islamic civilization: its physical form, characterized by fluidity and replication, is based as much on Islamic theological principles as it is on the more mundane principles of structural engineering.
Conversely, the downward movement of the muqarnas implies the descent of the heavenly towards the earth and the encasement of the divine in material forms.
Muqarnas is the Arabic word for stalactite vault, an architectural ornament developed around the middle of the tenth century in north eastern Iran and almost simultaneously, but apparently independently, in central North Africa.
Al-Kashi distinguishes four types of muqarnas: The Simple Muqarnas and the Clay-plastered Muqarnas, both with plane facets and roofs, as well as the Curved Muqarnas, or Arch, and the Shirazi, in which the roofs of the cells and the intermediate elements are curved.
The muqarnas is used in large domes, in smaller cupola, in niches, on arches, and as an almost flat decorative frieze.