Cambridge Central Mosque
The first purpose-built mosque in Cambridge, a timber-framed building behind a garden on Mill Road.
Cambridge Central Mosque is the first mosque in the city built for the purpose. It sits on Mill Road in Romsey and opened its doors to visitors on 24 April 2019. Alongside daily worship, it serves as a community centre and a cultural venue. For the street around it, see Mill Road.
How it came about
The idea dates to 2007, when the existing mosque on Mawson Road was running out of room. The Muslim Academic Trust suggested the Mill Road site, and a fund-raising drive, the Cambridge Mosque Project, got going in 2008. A one-acre plot cost 4 million pounds in 2009. That same year a design contest went to Marks Barfield Architects, the practice responsible for the London Eye, who worked with advisers on sacred geometry and on Islamic gardens. The council approved the plan in 2012, although the proposal attracted objections. Gifts came from several continents, and about two-thirds of the total was donated from Turkey. Construction began in September 2016 and finished in March 2019.
The building
The architecture blends Islamic and English religious traditions and makes use of Islamic geometry. It has one storey, set on a rectangular plot in a mainly residential part of the city. A formal garden of trees and a water feature faces Mill Road, and visitors cross it to reach the entrance. There, a canopy is held up by four timber columns shaped like trees, each topped by a skylight. The glulam timber frame is meant to evoke a woodland canopy and, in Islamic tradition, the garden as a place of reflection and paradise. Big round windows let daylight into the prayer hall. Environmental features include natural ventilation, air source heat pumps, photovoltaic panels and rainwater harvesting.
Recognition
The mosque has won regional architecture honours from RIBA East, with 2021 awards for the project architect, the building itself and the client.
Practical notes
This is an active place of worship and community centre. The website carries its programme of prayers and events, so check it before visiting, and dress and behave respectfully inside.