La Biennale di Venezia with the Victoria and Albert Museum - London
The 17th International Architectural Biennale
Special Projects
Pavilion of Applied Arts -Three British Mosques
In the Applied Arts Pavilion, in the Arsenale, La Biennale di Venezia and the Victoria and Albert Museum present Three British Mosques, marking the fifth year of their collaboration. Responding to the theme How Will We Live Together it explores contemporary multiculturalism through three adapted mosques spaces in London. Collaborating with author and architect Shahed Saleem, the pavilion looks at the self-built and often undocumented world of adapted mosques.
Islam is a highly portable religion and in Britain any group can start a mosque. Most mosques have been created through the adaptation of existing buildings, which range from houses, shops, cinemas, pubs and other former places of worship.
Commissioner - Victoria and Albert Museum - Curators - Dr Christopher Turner - Dr Ella Kilgallon - Shahed Saleem
https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2021/pavilion-applied-arts/
Harrow Central
Harrow Central mosque, is a purpose built space next door to the converted terraced house it used to occupy.
"Shahed Saleem has carried out a comprehensive study of the history of the British mosque and has also designed several. The V and A has worked with him to explore three different case studies that illuminate stories of immigration, identity, and community aspiration. Most mosques in Britain are grass-roots, crowd-sourced, community projects that exemplify creative reuse. As new-built mosques replace these ad-hoc structures, this form of community-led design is being lost. The V and A pavilion is an attempt to record and celebrate this stage of mosque-making Britain."
Dr Christopher Turner
co-curator with Ella Kilgallon and Shahed Saleem
Old Kent Road
The Old Kent Road mosque is housed in a former pub.
The first mosque in Britain was created in 1889 by adapting a terraced house in Liverpool, and there are now 1,800 mosques around the country. The history of the mosque in Britain is one of cultural dialogue with different histories merging and presenting new opportunities for our urban fabric to evolve. Designed and in many cases built by its users, the mosque has given Britain an entirely new form of architecture.
Old Kent Road
Brick Lane
The Brick Lane mosque was a former Protestant chapel then a Synagogue.
The pavilion is carpeted, as in a mosque, and these stories are explored through 3D architectural reconstructions, filmed interviews and photographs.
Brick Lane Mosque