Mosque set for major revamp to revive centre
DEWSBURY’S Abu Bakr Siddique Masjid mosque and education centre is set for a major revamp that would revive the tired building.
Bradford-based Faum Architecture have drawn up designs to give ‘an iconic look’ to the facility, which opened in a former warehouse on Ernest Street in 1994.
The redevelopment plans aim to improve the external appearance by disguising red brick, render, timber, stonework and peeling paint to create ‘a signature building to be proud of.’ The proposals aim to increase the size of the centre to include classrooms, function rooms, and bereavement areas. A 12-space car park will be created on the corner of Ernest Street and Battye Street.
The designs, which include a glass minaret and roof lantern, have been conceived to reflect local architecture including Grade II-listed Eastborough Junior, Infant and Nursery School, which is directly opposite, as well as Dewsbury Baptist Church and Longcauseway Church in the town centre.
The architects have outlined the design influences as being Moorish stucco similar to that found at the Alhambra Palace in Andalusia, which ‘links well with the stone profiling of the local churches,’ and the decorative patterns of biomorphic art, which again links with floral patterns found in the windows of local churches. The windows of the prayer hall have been designed to incorporate Mashrabiya, a spiritual, decorative, and functional architectural element that merges the form and function of the Islamic perforated window screen with a conventional shutter. Public consultation on the plans began on May 10 and will run until June 14.