GRAHAM TITE

Morning at the mosque

With the building of mosques now common in the UK, conservation officers are finding themselves being asked to advise on their design.

New mosques in Britain rely on clearly recognised forms to establish their identity.

In a spell at a West London borough, I was able to contribute to the design of a mosque. The new building was under way on a formerly derelict, back-land site at the rear of High Street shops but, with listed buildings nearby and within a conservation area, advice was needed from the conservation officer.

Mosques have appeared in British cities and towns in the past 25 years, often as conversions, but here was the opportunity to create a purpose-built one. The design team was experienced. The architect, originally from Delhi, had worked extensively in the UK, even previously as an employee of the borough. He had recently completed a mosque in the Chilterns. Work there needed to be signed-off, so would I like to join him on a trip to Chesham?

We were lucky to pick a bright, autumnal morning for the visit. The blue sky gave definition to the architectural forms and conferred on the newly finished mosque a suitably Levantine appeal. In our deliberations about the exterior of the London project we were also interested in the choice of its colours, so the sparkling light was useful.

New mosques in Britain rely on clearly recognised forms to establish their identity. The rocket-slim minaret is derived from Ottoman models. The plan is square and rises through two floors (in both cases here) to the dome that forms, both externally and internally, the chief architectural feature. The dome under way in

The plan is square and rises through two foors to the dome that forms, both externally and internally, the chief architectural feature.

CONTEX T 102 : NOVEMBER 2007

Reference

Mosques and their related art forms are treated widely in a single volume, with bibliography, by M Hattstein and P Delius, Islam, Art and Architecture, Konemann, Cologne, 2000.

Glimpses of one of the new generation of mosques.

London was to be clad outside in coloured tiles and topped with a crescent moon.

We entered the Chesham mosque, having placed our footwear in the pigeon-holes in one of the lobbies that surround the lower prayer hall. The structure is a double shell of blockwork, clad outside in plain brick. A concrete slab roofs the lower hall and forms the floor for the upper. Lateral stairs give access to the upper hall, and the rim and roof of the dome surmount this square hall.

Although all new, the ornament was well done, adding an air of true quality to the generally plain structures.

Returning to the London project, advice was offered and accepted on the materials and detail of the window frames and doors on the street side. The upper hall was to be reached by way of a rather grand frontispiece building containing the entrance lobby and two sets of dog-leg stairs. Agreement was reached to make this block somewhat more graceful and to improve vital elements of its decoration.

Earlier mosques at Woking, Surrey and at Regents Park, London are being joined by a fresh generation. Another chapter in our architectural history is being written.

Graham Tite is historic

buildings advisor with

Chichester Council, Sussex.

The author wishes to thank Syed Architects, Southall.

With carpets for the prayers instead of pews or

chairs, a mosque’s interior has a powerful sense of

architectural spaciousness, reinforced by the infinity that the modelling of the dome is intended to convey.

CONTEXT 102 : NOVEMBER 2007



Reference Mosques and their related art forms are treated widely in a single volume, with bibliography, by M Hattstein and P Delius, Islam, Art and Architecture, Konemann, Cologne, 2000.
Glimpses of one of the new generation of mosques.

London was to be clad outside in coloured tiles and topped with a crescent moon. We entered the Chesham mosque, having placed our footwear in the pigeon-holes in one of the lobbies that surround the lower prayer hall. The structure is a double shell of blockwork, clad outside in plain brick. A concrete slab roofs the lower hall and forms the floor for the upper. Lateral stairs give access to the upper hall, and the rim and roof of the dome surmount this square hall.		Although all new, the ornament was well done, adding an air of true quality to the generally plain structures. Returning to the London project, advice was offered and accepted on the materials and detail of the window frames and doors on the street side. The upper hall was to be reached by way of a rather grand frontispiece building containing the entrance lobby and two sets of dog-leg stairs. Agreement was reached to make this block somewhat more graceful and to improve vital elements of its decoration. Earlier mosques at Woking, Surrey and at Regents Park, London are being joined by a fresh generation. Another chapter in our architectural history is being written.
Graham Tite is historic buildings advisor with Chichester Council, Sussex. The author wishes to thank Syed Architects, Southall.	With carpets for the prayers instead of pews or chairs, a mosque’s interior has a powerful sense of architectural spaciousness, reinforced by the infinity that the modelling of the dome is intended to convey.


30	CONTEXT 102 : NOVEMBER 2007