Architectural Proposal for New Extension of Masjid al Haram

bismillah was salamu alaykum. i think the new plans are interesting, but i notice that the "grand doors" will effectively remove at least two levels of "tawaf" space from the Haram. tawaf is often translated as circumambulation, but to understand the impact just realize that each tawaf circuit means moving in a continuous circle around the Kaaba.

right now during Hajj, but also during Umrah, one finds people making tawaf inside the masjid itself on the first, and second floors, or on its roof or in its basement in the most crowded times.

this new plan's greatest flaw in my opinion is its apparent impact on tawaf.

from a design perspective, i like the arches individually, and love the careful effort to maximize views of the Kaaba.

but the lines of arches look more to me like vertebrae, and the effect is not immediately to me of a person in sujud, as of some great beasts which came to a watering hole and died there. now only their bleached spines and ribs attesting to their presence.

from the sky, the structure, if it did replace the whole of the current Haram, would be much more like a beautiful flower. but as long as one can look at the profile, i for one would have to force myself to think "sujud."

i hope they make istikhara before they make any final decisions. :)