T1s visited Europe’s first ‘Eco-Mosque’, based in Mill Road in Cambridge, as part of their exploration about special places and the idea of a sacred space as part of their Religious Studies curriculum. The mosque can hold 1,000 worshippers and has a wealth of sustainable features including air-source heat pumps, rainwater harvesting and solar panels.
The children discovered that environmental concerns have been paramount in the design of the Cambridge Mosque as Muslims feel a strong imperative to protect the environment, as they believe it is a gift from the Divine. T1s learned about the signs, symbols and patterns that are used in this place of worship and that there is no furniture in the prayer hall but the carpet has been specially designed and printed with straight lines to help worshipper know where to sit, much as we use the white lines in the school hall for Assembly. In the atrium, one of the children commented, “We looked at a clock that shows the five daily times for prayer and the hands didn’t move because they remind you when to pray during each day.” Another child said, "We spotted the Arabic text hidden in the beautiful brickwork pattern and we know that you read Arabic words from right to left."
The building is naturally lit all year round by large skylights in the roof, supplemented by low energy LED bulbs, while panels on the roof help generate renewable energy from sunlight. As well as being very well insulated and naturally ventilated, the mosque is heated and cooled by locally generated energy, by way of highly efficient heat pumps in the basement that produce more energy than they consume. Wastewater and rainwater are used to flush toilets and irrigate the grounds. One child remarked, “The water which is collected in the Mosque’s garden is also used for the fountains and there is a green roof and swift bird boxes on the walls.”
