İstanbul Başakşehir Mosque — A Minaret Among High-Rise Blocks

Building a minaret in Başakşehir is a different problem from building one on an open rural plot. The site is tight, there are tall blocks all around and crane movement is restricted. Under those conditions in-situ casting is the more workable method: instead of lifting heavy units, you carry the mould upward.

The timber scaffold grew with the shaft. At each stage the formwork was struck, moved to the module above and the taper re-measured. On reaching şerefe level, a dedicated mould was set up for the muqarnas ring.

Building a minaret on a tight site

Three constraints govern minaret work on a plot hemmed in by buildings:

• Crane access — if large units cannot be lifted, in-situ casting is the only realistic method.
• Laydown area — formwork modules and reinforcement arrive on daily deliveries; there is no room to stockpile.
• Neighbour safety — the scaffold is sheeted and the ground beneath the working-at-height zone is kept under continuous control.

The şerefe ring

The şerefe is a cantilever projecting from the shaft, so its formwork has to carry not only concrete pressure but its own weight and the operatives on it. The timber scaffold was braced back to the shaft and the şerefe mould sat on that bracing. The muqarnas negatives and the balustrade openings were positioned within the same mould.