A Few Thoughts on the Cambridge Mosque

Year 2020, Volume: 5 Issue: 1, 193 - 214, 30.06.2020

Suna Çağaptay

https://doi.org/10.26835/my.736360

Abstract

In an architectural critique piece appearing in the Guardian in 2002, Patrick Glancey commented on British mosques failing to demonstrate any architectural merit, “often being no more than brick boxes with minarets and domes applied like afterthoughts”. He asked, “Why are there no great British mosques?” (Glancey, 2002). David Marks and Julia Barfield of Marks Barfield Architects, who designed the London Eye as well as several other large-scale urban projects, have now created a beautiful, approachable and eco-friendly mosque in Cambridge in collaboration with Prof. Timothy Winter, also known as Abdul Hakim Murad, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Cambridge Mosque Committee. In this article, I examine the building’s design philosophy from the perspective of its architects and its patron. Inaugurated on March 15, 2020 in Cambridge, United Kingdom, the mosque attracted a great attention in print and online media. Reviewing its architectural characteristics and sustainable features, this piece builds on those interpretations by contextualizing the architectural, cultural and historical environment in which it was built.

Keywords

Contemporary Mosque Design, Cambridge Mosque, Timber Architecture, Sustainable Design, Essence of the Religious Space

Supporting Institution

University of Cambridge

Project Number

European Research Council Grant/ERC Advanced Grant Agreement n693418

Cambridge Camisi’nin Düşündürdükleri

Abstract

Guardian Gazetesi’ne mimari eleştiri yazıları yazan Patrick Glancey, 2002 yılında yazdığı bir yazısında İngiltere’deki camilerin özensiz, çekicilikten uzak, “minareden ve kubbeden oluşan ve ince düşünülmemiş özelliklerle dolu olduğunu” ifade ederek İngiltere’de neden çekici ve çarpıcı cami tasarımları görülmediğini sorgulamıştır (Glancey, 2002). İngiltere’nin Cambridge şehrinde 15 Mart 2020 yılında hizmete açılan Cambridge Camisi, ilgi çekici tasarım kurgusu ve çevre dostu uygulamasıyla medyada yoğun bir biçimde yer almıştır. Bu makelenin amacı, aralarında London Eye’ın bulunduğu sayısız tasarıma imza atan Marks Barfield Architects’in kurucu mimarları, David Marks ve Julia Barfield tarafından tasarlanan caminin tasarım kurgusunu eleştirel bir çerçeveden incelemektir. Ayrıca, Cambridge Cami Komitesi’nin Başkanı Prof. Timothy Winter, nam-ı diğer Abdülhakim Murad’ın da önerileri doğrultusunda ortaya çıkan tasarım sürecininin mimari, kültürel ve tarihsel bağlamı içerisinde ele alınması hedeflenmektedir.

Keywords

Modern Cami Tasarımı, Cambridge Camisi, Ahşap Mimari, Sürdürülebilir Tasarım, Dini Mekanda Öze Dönüş

Project Number

European Research Council Grant/ERC Advanced Grant Agreement n693418

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• İNTERNET KAYNAKLARI
• www.ons.gov.uk
• https://marksbarfield.com/projects/cambridge-mosque/
• https://cambridgecentralmosque.org
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-14446488