Architecture
Graduation date 15 12 2010
Commission members Laurens Jan ten Kate (mentor) Ad Bogerman Nanne de Ru
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Many Islamic ‘guest’ workers have emigrated to the Netherlands since the 1970s, and brought with them their culture, customs and religion. Some 13% of the population of Amsterdam say they feel an affinity with Islam, but there is still no representation of Islam to be found in the centre of Amsterdam. During the period in which this wave of Islamic immigration took place, the canal belt in the centre of Amsterdam changed from a heterogeneous city centre into a homogeneous tourist paradise. The design of a mosque on an Amsterdam canal can restore the area’s vibrancy and an important group of pious Amsterdammers can find their place in the heart of their city. A leap to the present. More and more public and social functions are disappearing from the stately canal buildings and relocating to other parts of the city. New-build schemes are subjected to conservative assessment criteria. As a result, the canals are turning into well-conserved fossils of what was once a vibrant city. Another step in this process of fossilisation has been taken with the city centre’s listing as a UNESCO world heritage site. It is time for a change of approach to bring the canal belt up to the present. Adding a modern, public building will restore some balance between preservation and renewal. Visible renewal. Although Islamic residents are visible on the streets of many Dutch cities, this community is scarcely represented as such in the built environment. And when it is, it is often interlarded with clichés of ethnic styles of building. With the new generation of Muslims that was born in the Netherlands, it is time to find a contemporary design language for a Dutch mosque. ‘Flagship store’ for Islam in the Netherlands. The location of the canal mosque is the site of the former public library on the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht and contains, in addition to a mosque, an exhibition centre, a hammam, a library and a café and restaurant. That makes it a tourist attraction, but especially a place for Amsterdammers of Islamic and non-Islamic persuasion. Visual language. In contrast to what one might think, the typology of the mosque offers a lot of freedom and there are few compulsory elements; of these, the most important are the orientation towards Mecca and the spatial sequence. Both form the brick vaults beneath which the mosque finds its place.
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Jurrian Knijtijzer A mosque on an Amsterdam canal
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Additional members for the examination Holger Gladys Madeleine Maaskant
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