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Project Name
Saifee Masjid, Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust
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Location
Mumbai
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Category
House of Worship
In the heart of Mumbai, nestled in the vibrant Bhindi Bazar area, lies a historic hub of the Dawoodi Bohra community. This sacred site has been transformed through a remarkable redevelopment project, which saw the demolition and rebirth of a 100-year-old Masjid, meticulously reconstructed to preserve its original essence.
The sprawling complex comprises multiple buildings, including:
- The majestic Main Masjid, capable of accommodating 7,000 worshippers across two levels
- Bab-ul-Futuh, an administrative building with residential Floor for His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin.
- A multistorey complex featuring four multipurpose halls and residences, serving the community’s diverse needs.
- The ground floor’s triple-height area, facing the courtyard, serves as a central gathering space for community events and socializing.
The entire complex is interconnected through a state-of-the-art, networked Audio and Video Solution, enabling seamless transmission of audio and video streams between buildings. This integrated system allows for effortless sharing of content, facilitating communication and collaboration across the various facilities, including the Main Masjid, Bab-ul-Futuh, and the Multipurpose Halls.
This magnificent redevelopment honours the heritage of the Dawoodi Bohra community while providing modern amenities and state of the art AV facilities for the future generations.
What key challenges were faced?
Given the Masjid’s paramount emphasis on aesthetics, courtesy of its construction using marble and Burmese teakwood from the original structure, speaker placement and projection mapping played a crucial role. The challenge was to seamlessly integrate these elements, ensuring they harmoniously blended with the interior design, rather than detracting from its beauty.
The most significant challenge was achieving high Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) while managing gain before feedback, all with minimal acoustic treatment. Specifically, the speakers had to perform beyond 100 dB SPL, as chanting levels often exceed this threshold, making it a daunting task to ensure clear, undistorted sound.
Working with various vendors, we simultaneously installed electronics to meet the inauguration deadline.
How were those challenges resolved?
The Masjid’s exquisite architecture, incorporating marble and Burmese teakwood from the original building, posed a distinct challenge: precision placement of speakers and projection mapping to maintain the interior’s aesthetic harmony. Our team skilfully met this challenge by:
- Ensuring exact markings and precise provisions.
- Positioning equipment with meticulous accuracy.
This attention to detail allowed the audiovisual elements to blend seamlessly with the interior, preserving the space’s original beauty and creating an immersive experience for worshippers.
Furthermore, we successfully addressed the technical challenge of achieving high Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) to accommodate the loud chanting, which can surpass 100 dB SPL. To ensure optimal performance, we conducted rigorous competitive trials with various speaker brands, carefully evaluating how they would sound in the space and perform at levels exceeding the required loudness threshold.
This meticulous selection process enabled us to choose the best speakers for the Masjid, guaranteeing a clear, undistorted sound that meets the community’s needs for loud chanting and other events.
Working collaboratively with various vendors and simultaneously managing the electronic installation, we successfully met the tight deadline for the inauguration, delivering a world-class audiovisual experience that complements the Masjid’s breathtaking beauty.