Faith-building

Designed by renowned Australian architect Glenn Murcutt, the new building of the Australian Islamic Centre is intended to promote intercultural understanding and provide a new type of community worship space when it opens later this year. The decade-long project, revealed in the exhibition Glenn Murcutt: Architecture of Faith, involved Murcutt working closely and consulting with Islamic architects, imams and the local community as well as the Newport Islamic Council.

The architecture of the building proposes a new visual typology for Islamic architecture, replacing traditional elements of found in a mosque such as minarets and a dome with a minimal structure, topped with a maze of translucent geometrical forms that cover the roof and let colour-tinted light into the building.

By respectfully re-imagining Islamic visual conventions for contemporary Australia, the project aims to reposition places of worship within the structure of the city and to create a culturally accessible space for the whole community.