Recognized by the Aga Khan Development Network, the White Mosque has been hailed as one of the most significant modern mosques built in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In awarding the project, the network highlighted its profound architectural and cultural value highlighting how the mosque serves as both a religious and intellectual hub for its community. While its floor plan is geometrically simple, the interior is defined by a complex interplay of sloped ceilings and natural light. The space is pure, abstract, minimally ornamented, and painted entirely white. Drawing from the archetype of traditional Bosnian mosques—typically square in plan with a central cupola and a modest porch—the White Mosque maintains this foundational layout. However, it reinterprets the traditional cupola as a dynamically deformed quarter dome punctuated by five skylights, each made from segments of quarter domes. This contrast between a simple base plan and a sophisticated, multi-layered roof structure results in a striking architectural dialogue. The mosque’s key symbolic elements—the mihrab, minbar, minaret, and fountains—retain a folk-art sensibility that is subtly elevated by the avant-garde geometry of their context.

Architect Zlatko Ugljen has been widely praised for his ability to seamlessly blend modernist influences—most notably Le Corbusier’s Ronchamp Cathedral—with traditional Ottoman architectural forms. His design exemplifies a sensitive synthesis of heritage and innovation.

Architect: Zlatko Ugljen
Engineer: D. Malkin
Craftsman: Ismet Imamović
Contractor: Zvijezda