Peckham Mosque Extension

The Peckham Mosque was begun in the late 1990s and left incomplete for a decade as the community raised further funds. The project, in a conservation area just west of Rye Lane, set out to complete and enlarge the Peckham’s central mosque, and complete the long-unfinished minarets.

The new barrel vaulted prayer room is designed to create positive and emphatic top to the formerly flat-roofed mosque. It’s pointed arch respects traditional Islamic form. The low-slung barrel vaulted form also delivers maximum daylight to neighbouring gardens. The vaulted prayer room is formed by 8 three-pinned glu-lam timber arches, clad in zinc. Timber is celebrated in the interior with a carefully detailed timber lining.

The minarets synthesize Mughal architecture with British Arts and Crafts design. In a departure from much British Islamic architecture, these minarets use traditional materials, including tiles and hand-made special bricks from a Dorset brickworks. The polychrome brickwork minarets playfully communicate with the handsome Victorian Board School across the street.