RIBA Stirling Prize 2021: Cambridge Central Mosque

Cambridge Central Mosque
by Marks Barfield Architects

The urban intervention of inserting a mosque capable of welcoming 1,000 worshipers within a low rise, residential neighbourhood, without dominating it, is masterful. Its presence is clear
but modest, considering the size of the mosque relative to the two storey terrace houses around it. This is achieved by setting it back from the street, progressing through the Islamic garden, then gradually increasing in scale to the front portico, atrium with café to one side and study centre to the other, through to central ablution areas. The building then rises at the rear to the largest mass of the prayer hall, which shifts in geometry to face Mecca.

The defining internal characteristic of the mosque is the timber 'trees' which form the structural support for the roof and the roof lights. The geometry of the trees was developed through working with geometric artist Keith Critchlow, creating the underlying geometry of the mosque. It combines an Islamic 'the Breath of the Compassionate' pattern into a structural grid that supports the roof and is then brought to a point at the columns.

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Image credit: Morley von Sternberg