Faith In The City: The Mosque in the Contemporary Urban West

10-11 November 2010

A two-day symposium

Faith in the City: Keynote lecture: 7.00-9.00pm Wednesday 10 November 2010 at the Rich Mix (35-47 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6LA)

Faith in the City: Symposium: 2.00-6.00pm Thursday 11 November 2010 at the Architecture Foundation (Ground Floor East, 136-148 Tooley St, London SE1 2TU)

Faith in the City: Book Launch: 9.30-11.00am Weds 27 July 2011, at the Architecture Foundation (Ground Floor East, 136-148 Tooley St, London SE1 2TU)
Further details

Keynote lecture and day of debate on 10-11 November 2011, as forum for discussion of ideas and case studies of recent mosque and faith building design from across Europe, alongside a close investigation into historic precedents for the integration of minorities within the urban context and a suggestion of possible progressive future scenarios.

An exploration of the current contemporary moment and a platform for discussion of alternative ways in which architecture can give form to faith and aid in navigating the dynamics between organisations, communities and their neighbours; private practice and the public communication of belief. The seminar sessions looked at architects' struggles between tradition and modernity in mosque design, the role that architecture can play in integrating faith based minorities, the place of religion in a broadly secular Western urban fabric, and the differences between British, European and other Western contexts.

A collaboration between Openvizor, The Architecture Foundation and Arts Council England's Arts and Islam programme.

With contributors including

Michel Abboud, architect, Principal of SOMA; architectural consultants for the Park51 Islamic Cultural Centre in New York City, US.

Ergün Erkoçu, architect, author, and Creative Director, Concept 0031 (The Hague) and Cihan Bugdaci, Director, Gentlemen A.R.T. Architects of the Polder Mosque (unrealised) and co-authors of the book The Mosque: Political, Architectural and Social Transformations

Foreign Architects Switzerland, a platform for alternative ideas, projects, and people; responsible for the post-minaret-ban ideas competition for an Islamic Centre in Zurich

Lukas Feireiss, curator, writer, artist and editor, Studio Lukas Feireiss (Berlin). Editor of Closer To God: Religious Architecture and Sacred Spaces and Beyond Architecture: Imaginative Buildings and Fictional Cities

Alen Jasarevic, architect and founder, Jasarevic Architekten (Mering, Germany); architects of the Penzberg Islamic Forum

Ali Mangera, architect and founder, Mangera Yvars Architects (London/Barcelona); architects of the experimental, un-built and highly contested Abbey Mills Mosque, originally due to be located near the East London's Olympic site

Dr. Noah Nasser, Acting Director, Urban Renaissance Institute, University of Greenwich. Founder, Centre for Urban Design Outreach and Skills (CUDOS), Birmingham City University

Ziauddin Sardar, writer, broadcaster, cultural critic, Visiting Professor, School of Arts, City University, London

Documentary credits
Camera by Tijmen Veldhuizen
Produced by Abbas Nokhasteh, Openvizor
Directed by Andrés Borda González