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.