Qal’at Ath-Thaqafah Al-Arabiyyah Al-Islamiyyah is perhaps the first truly contemporary Islamic Centre in Ogun State, Nigeria. The Islamic Centre is an architectural and social marker of a new perception of Islam in Ijebu Ode Ogun State. By respectfully recalibrating historical Islamic design conventions for modern Ogun State– a place with a well-established and growing Muslim population – this project heralds a new interpretation of mosques as a future part of our suburbs.

The brief was for an Islamic Centre comprising Class rooms and Multi-Purpose Hall, Community Mosque, Hostel and Staff accommodations. The design would be modern buildings that would contribute to a positive interpretation of the mosque as a welcome architectural feature of a suburban Town.

From the outset, we understood that the Centre should simultaneously embrace Islamic design traditions and address the spirit of local communities; it was to be inclusive and respectful of people of all faiths. The design for the buildings draws from the functional and semiotic language of traditional mosque architecture, considering fundamentals such as the orientation towards Mecca of a mihrab (niche) within a qibla wall; a large hypostyle (columned) central prayer hall; provision of facilities for ablutions completed prior to prayer; and separate spaces, as required culturally, for men and women.