The three-fold brief for the Dudley Mosque called for a complex that could fulfil the spiritual needs of local Muslims, and provide an inclusive civic venue for the wider community, while generating ongoing revenue and employment opportunities within the town. Maximising a narrow sloping site, CivicArts departed from conventional mosque design with a keyhole-shaped plan that referenced the ruined range of Dudley Castle. Emulating the castle’s linear succession of public halls and servant spaces that culminates in the keep, the design arranged the community and learning facilities along an access road to the glass cube of a 500-capacity Friday Mosque. This left the remainder of the site free to be landscaped as public gardens, capable of holding 2,000 people for major outdoor events.

 

Client: Dudley Muslim Association