Ruhr Green Mosque

2020

The idea for the first construction phase of the ‘Green Mosque Ruhr’ is an innovative new type of large house of prayer, as the prelude to a developing inner-city campus of existing and new buildings, embedded in a new public green space. The chosen location, with its industrial history (this was once the site of the colliery buildings around Shaft 3 of the Constantin colliery), follows the path that has been pursued for decades in the Ruhr region of transforming former industrial areas into green and culturally utilised spaces.

A new green path axis from east to west will be created by opening up the edges of the site, which will interweave the new campus with the surrounding neighbourhoods. Existing buildings, which IKV Bochum recently acquired together with the neighbouring site, will be used as training and commercial premises. The new buildings of the 2nd and 3rd construction phases will complement the cultural offerings of the mosque with places for celebrations, learning and studying as well as recreation and dialogue.

The prayer house in the middle of the campus has a radial floor plan – to initiate a diverse dialogue between the interior and exterior spaces – and contains a pentagonal prayer room measuring 625 square metres and 21 metres high, whose geometry is a reference to the five pillars of Islam. The prayer room can be extended by another 580 square metres, which are used as a foyer, meeting and lounge area, and by 350 square metres of separate prayer area for women, so that up to 2,000 people can take part in prayers. In addition, the prayer house offers retreat rooms for childcare, meetings and catering for guests, as well as a spacious entrance area.

A special feature of the design is that the pentagonal prayer room can be completely circulated on a path through the surrounding rooms. This enables diverse communication between the rooms and users. From the outside, the colour scheme of the design is reminiscent of the Kaaba in Mecca. In Bochum, however, the black of the building is the result of a revived, ancient treatment of wood for permanent protection against environmental influences: the carbonisation of the wood. This involves burning the outermost layer of the wood. The carbonised layer hardens the wood and closes the pores so that water and other environmental influences cannot penetrate the wood. The charring of the wood is of course also related to the industrial history of the place.

The prayer house is made entirely of wood and tamped concrete/clay construction. Here, too, the innovative sustainable potential of the building lies in the revitalisation of old construction methods. A supply of geothermal energy generated directly on site is planned, as is the recycling of rainwater as service water for the washrooms and toilets.

Incidentally, the name of the Constantin Colliery goes back to the Roman Emperor Constantine, who was the first Roman ruler to officially recognise Christians. What better impetus than to create a new Islamic cultural centre here in the Ruhr region and promote religious dialogue?