The Black Taj

For “Black Taj” one could deduce a somewhat mirroring idea. This mirroring was to us seen more as a mirroring of form and lines, more than color itself:

From horizontal and curved movements which define the Taj Mahal into linear and vertical expressions, so as to create an aesthetic counterpart for the existing Taj.

The Taj Mahal is quite calm and sensual as well as delicate. Our Black Taj expresses its energy otherwise, expanding upwards through aggressive and straight elegant lines as to resemble a form of a great emperor, producing a contour which creates conceptually a reverent human figure in a praying position towards the Taj Mahal.

The Black Taj

Location

Agra, India

Client

Competition

Size

--------------------------

Year

2018

There are 4 accesses to the BlackTaj in every extreme of the project, either through long ramps or stairs. These accesses direct the visitor towards a white basis which goes deep in the ground and plunges the visitor into a dark and gloomy atmosphere of sacred silence. At the bottom, the visitor encounters a pond of dark waters which bare the significance of the emperor´s broken heart. From this pond, the great mausoleum tower moves elegantly upwards and holds in its golden interior a geometrical dodecahedron of glass where Shah Jahan´s sarcophagus will reside.

The visitor will be able to move upwards through the help of platforms/ elevator/stairs which connect the mausoleum from top middle. Here we will also be provided in different heights with the presence of balconies which will offer views on different height levels into all cardinal directions to enjoy the surrounding landscape.

A visitor center also form at the base as a 2 movement arm, where the visitor may see the ascend and descend of the emperor´s love.

This geometrical form is on 4 sides protected by four inclined minarets which give a balance to the whole composition and can be lit through fire at dusk creating a profound sacred experience. Our Black Taj does not seek to overpass by any means the beauty of the existing Taj, it will only complement it and together create a dual complex where beauty can be admired as 2 entwined poles of a love story.

Picture Credits: Christian Schreinert, PSP Architects Engineers, Hamburg

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