Marks Barfield Architects has designed a sustainable mosque in Cambridge that draws on local architecture while incorporating traditional Islamic design aspects, including geometric patterns that symbolise the infinite.
The studio, which won the project in an international competition commissioned by the Cambridge Mosque Trust, wanted the Cambridge Central Mosque to be respectful of its surroundings while simultaneously standing out.
"It was a question of what a British mosque should be in the 21st century; it was very much about recognising that Islam is part of British culture now and has been for hundreds of years," said Marks Barfield Architects co-founder Julia Barfield.
"It's really wanting to acknowledge that in a vernacular architecture kind of way," she told Dezeen. Top image: tree-like pillars form the structure of the Cambridge Central Mosque. Above: the design was based on the idea of a "calm oasis"
The building, which replaces an old mosque that had become too small for the congregation, was designed around the idea of a "calm oasis of contemplation" situated within a grove of trees and informed by the garden of paradise.
The studio embodied this vision in the very structure of the 2,340-square-metre mosque, using timber to create tree-like pillars that join to form an interwoven, octagonal canopy that holds up its roof.
The exterior is clad in brick
The tree-pillars can be seen throughout the building, as well as outsi...