The As Sobur Mosque stands in Tulang Bawang Barat’s Islamic Center,
in Lampung. The architecture of the mosque combines two elements that are
usually found in mosque architecture, a dome and a minaret (tower),
into one, by creating a large and tall tower as its main mass. The tower creates
a very high void within the mosque. This tower rests on a low podium mass to
highlight the tension of the interiors.

The wide podium uses hanging walls around it to bring down
temperature and protect it from rainfall, while still providing views to the
landscape surrounding the mosque. Lampung’s traditional scripts were carved
into several sides of the walls to underline context and identity.

The mosque implements Islamic numerology throughout its design. For
example, the tower goes up to 30 meters, just as the number of 30 juz in the
holy Qur’an, and there are 99 light openings at the top of the tower, taken out
of the 99 names of Allah, the mosque’s platform dimensions are 34 by 34 meters,
taken from the number of sujud (prostrations) Muslims
do each day in their prayers. The distance between columns are 5 meters, taken
from the number of fardhu prayers in a day. There are
also 114 number of columns in the building’s corridor, taken from the number of surahs (chapters)
in the Qur’an.

As a house of worship, the mosque expresses vertically in its
massing, to mirror human’s relationship with the higher power – as known as habluminallah.
Concrete was used as the main material. Its homogeneity projects a sense of
honesty and strength. There are no ornaments, only plain massive concrete
without paint, from top to bottom. The mosque’s ceiling is
made of reflective metal sheets so that people can reflect upon themselves
whenever they look up and pray. The name of Allah (Asma Ul Husna) was carved on
the ceilings repetitively.  At night, these perforations function as the
mosque’s main light source. Therefore, the full name of this mosque, as
written on the inauguration inscription, is “the Grand Mosque of 99 Light
Asmaul Husna Baitus Shobur”.

The ceiling in the deepest part is in the form of a high aisle, as
high as the five-story building, which leads to 99 small holes in the top. Twice
a year when the sun passes through the equator, in March and September, the
light will enter the holes.

In the design, Andra inserted a lot
of symbols in it. Colorless and ornamental exposed concrete symbolizes the
absence, that the outside appearance is not as important as its contents, and
worship is not to be exhibited. The mosque was intentionally made without an
onion dome and without any ornaments on the outside such as mosques generally
in Indonesia today (mosques in the archipelago before the exotic Republic of
Indonesia were characterized by their respective regions and without domes).

“Now all mosques use domes,
which does not mean we also have to use domes. Muslims do not like to imitate
but must be at the forefront. Berislam must also be humble because Islam
itself is already great, “Andra explained after the inauguration of the
Baitus Shobur mosque in Tubaba, October 11, 2016. It took a year to design and
a year for its construction.

Resources:

https://bluprint.onemega.com/as-sobur-mosque-andramatin/

https://www.andramatin.com/project/tubaba-mosque/

https://sarasvati.co.id/news/architecture/12/budaya-tubaba/