Caption: Architect’s render of the Finchley Mosque front extension with its pen-nib minaret
Guest article written for IANL by a member of our community. Jazakallah Khayran for sharing his expertise with us.
North Finchley Mosque’s current expansion reflects an innate need to sustain in terms of longevity and efficiency. With real estate prices at a premium in London and site expansions pervasive, the Islamic Association of North London (IANL) has found a way to turn negatives into positives and expand sustainably.
A congregation that keeps on growing
Nurul Alam, an IANL Trustee, moved to Barnet in the 1990s and summarises the yearning for spiritual worship. The initial Isha prayers when IANL opened its doors in 1995 consisted of less than a dozen people, he says. ‘If you go to a typical Isha jamaat now, the existing hall is full plus the extension at the back. Over the last two decades, the congregation has grown exponentially, to the extent we have two-to-three Jumma prayers.
‘Considering that we were the only Masjid in Barnet, with the exception of perhaps Hendon to the other side [of the borough], the population had grown organically as well as through migration. The trustees decided that as the population grows there will be other satellite Mosques that will be established and we’ve seen that in the last few years’.
High Barnet Islamic Centre, Barnet Islamic Centre, Ponders End Mosque and Southgate Mosque eased this pressure, however IANL is still in demand with long queues for each of their three Friday prayers.
Alam is forthright, ‘The strategic decision we made is that we have a site here, which is central to Finchley, and we will develop it to its maximum capacity. And so it’s really to do with the fact that there is a fundamental need for the Muslims, who have been living there for generations, but also for those that have been migrating in recent years.’
Wayfarer
Historically, Finchley was a passing place. It wasn’t until the 1867 railway connection when housing was developed. This is ingrained in its architecture and urban design. The Arts Depot can be missed as it sits to the right-hand side of your commute. The bus station links central to the outskirts of London. The High Road is geared towards cars passing through and the recently expanded cycle lane extends this to more sustainable commuters as well.
Fast forward more than a century and the first mosque in the area was set up. Umair Waheed is the architect behind IANL’s expansion. His company, Atelier Architects, work on many projects including Islamically aligned and more general ones.
Light, glass and a street presence
Like many good architects and Muslims, his work emphasises form and function – the outward reflecting the inward. He used this on IANL’s expansion. ‘There is a lot of glass,’ Waheed explains. ‘We always try to make any project we work on have plenty of natural daylight coming in. That’s perfectly sustainable, you’re minimising the need for artificial lights during the day.’
The glass is ‘part of the purpose. Not to be a fortress, not to lock itself in a courtyard and you get access to it much further into the space, but to be a presence within wherever it’s located. For that, there has to be that visual continuity, that visual interest of different activities going on inside.
‘The mosque must have a street presence and be almost like a source of power in the sense that you can see different things going on within the space.’
— Umair Waheed, architect
‘The mosque must have a street presence and be almost like a source of power in the sense that you can see different things going on within the space. And then when you’re in the spaces, open plan where possible, you can have access to them’.
He continues, ‘It’s about creating an ambiance, you’re under a roof of a building where lots of different community activities are going on. So, from the outside we wanted to have that as well.’
Waheed is diplomatic about these developments. ‘It’s a difficult balance to convince everybody that the scale of what we’re proposing is correct for getting what the Musalli and the client wants, which is great to have light but we don’t want to be put on the stage and to be distracted by what’s going on outside. So, it’s a visual screening that is really important.’
A minaret inspired by the pen
The expansion will cater to this and the materials mortice into a modern, London-centric mosque. ‘We’re looking for modern inspiration. Buildings that own space,’ Waheed explains.
‘There’s Islamic geometry, the whole idea of the mashrabiya (مشربية) that had its own purpose in a hot climate and perforations to the external fabric. We’re using it in a visual form and any identity that we’re trying to create, an Islamic perspective, has more to do with geometry. The minaret is in the form of a nib, is somewhat sculptural and will light up at nighttime.’
This is reflected in the materials, ‘We’ve introduced this jolly feature on the actual outside. There’s perforated, anodised aluminium feature that goes into the somewhat sculptural minaret. So that’s perforated, the glass itself will have a pattern on. There are two different scales of perforation that allow a degree of seeing from the outside-in but also limiting what you can see from inside-out.’
Caption: ‘The minaret takes the form of a pen nib, inspired by Iqra — read.’
Waheed hopes this inspires more to gain beneficial knowledge, ‘The inspiration for that was Iqra (اقراء) – write and read with the Qalam and the importance of reading, writing and knowledge – that was the inspiration for the nib, for the minaret. So it’s symbolic at that level.’
London is a multicultural hub with traditional and modern looking buildings. As third-generation Muslims comfortably find their sense of identity and reverts to the faith increase, there is a need for the architecture in our community to reflect this as well.
Bismillah di barkat
There is Barakah in starting with Allah (swt) name, as Alam reminds us, ‘If we begin with Bismillah then put our trust in Allah, in sha Allah (God willing) He will provide. That is the thinking, you begin with the right intention and then Allah will provide. Not just from the skies, we have to work hard at it’.
‘We’ve had to say to people, we’re waiting for a significant amount and start work now rather than get everything together [i.e. an even larger sum]. If we waited till seven-and-a-half-million pounds was ready and then we get the work, we would never be able to finish this. So that’s partly the reason why we’re doing it in phases – A) to get it done and B) show the community the reason money is being asked for.’
Building in phases
Caption: Awaiting confirmation of the number and content of the later phases
IANL’s phasing turned negatives into positives. It does not have the funds to complete this project in one go. The intention is to phase the extension and spread out the fundraising over time. This allows construction to take place and the Masjid still serves its purpose.
The first two phases involve underground works such as drainage and foundations, and then raising the front structure in concrete to the first floor. The site will be functional during this time while raising funds for the following phases.
The first-floor extension was used during Ramadan 1447 (February-March 2026) for Tarawih prayers and continues to be used.
Bite-sized chunks, built on trust
This phased approach may be more inconvenient for congregants but Waheed is hopeful. ‘What I really admire about Finchley is they’ve done it with a lot of forward planning and foresight. We’re not going to get X amount of money and pay, people would then see this thing happen year after year and we’re going to be asking the community for more money annually. So, they’re going to start saying, where is it? What are you doing?
‘It was decided to do it in bite-sized, affordable chunks. In the long run it’s more expensive [as material costs and labour inevitably escalate with time] but you’re managing community expectations because you know the community knows what you’re doing and what you’re providing.’
Alam agrees. ‘It enhances trust between the trustees and the wider community. One of the things we’ve done is to keep most of them as transparent as possible but also by doing this people can see that money is being used to develop what is most relevant.’
‘It enhances trust between the trustees and the wider community.’
— Nurul Alam, IANL Trustee
‘It took us a number of years to be able to get planning permission for it. This particular phase is the largest extension we could currently have on the site, given the funding restrictions and everything else that was in place at that time’.
Going green
‘One of the planning conditions is that we had to meet a certain energy rating on this building – BREEAM,’ Waheed explains. The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment (BREEAM) is an international assessment method for sustainability. IANL have hired a BREEAM consultant – one-of-seven professionals appointed during this project – to ensure the standards are met.
Waheed continues, ‘On most of these community projects there is a negative connotation to it because, in the short term, it’s not cost effective and a lot of money has to come into this but in the long run I totally support it.’
A fabric-first approach
‘We took a fabric-first approach – making sure that the fabric doesn’t just meet the U-value [i.e. the thermal performance requirements of building regulations] but they go beyond that. And that you try to create a very airtight building.
‘The minute you have an existing building like the Masjid, ma sha Allah, it’s serving its purpose but it’s not going to be very airtight. It’s going to be leaky automatically – i.e. “leaky-building syndrome”. So, this gives us an opportunity to address that, not just in the new building but also in the existing building.’
‘The thermal performance of windows, roofs, walls and floors is actually higher than is required under the building regulations – we’ve achieved that,’ Waheed elaborates.
‘Plus, the other aspect of this is, if you have an airtight building, to try and minimise the energy, demand and usage through making the building thermally efficient and airtight as much as possible. We are better than the normal standing, which I think is five. It’s much more airtight once finished in sha Allah.
Materials that last
‘The other thing is the embodied energy. There’s certain materials we do not use. One of the biggest culprits is unplasticized polyvinyl chloride (uPVC). And then the thermal embodied energy in producing material and products (i.e. the life cycle performance) is another really important aspect.
‘Other materials may seem to have lower embodied energy but they have a lower lifecycle, which totally defeats the whole objective. So, we have been looking at materials and trying to make sure that things are long-lasting. That goes down to the internal fittings and fixtures and all the rest of it. That’s a consideration.’
Funding that more masajid could use
Waheed stresses the need for more Masajid to use sustainable alternatives. ‘I’m quite amazed that a lot of our communities have a lack of information. We don’t realise that there’s a London Community Energy fund and a nationwide-community energy fund – the Community Energy Fund (CEF). Our Masajid projects are absolutely ideal candidates to access these funds because they’re community-based. They’re offering a service to the local and wider community.’
Setting the foundations
Longevity is another issue that has been addressed in the plans. This started in 2011 with the initial expansion of the main hall, which Alam says, ‘provided a separate women’s prayer hall but also extended the male main prayer hall right to the side. We built it with the view in mind that at some point we might be able to put something on top of it.
‘So, in this phase we are putting another room above the men’s prayer hall and that’s going to function as a space for offices and our plant and conference rooms. That’s just an example of how in the past we’ve put the structures in place to be able to build on top’.
Keeping the community together
‘When you’re talking about sustainability, it is not just about the construction and the materials. It is also about how you were serving the needs of the local community.’
— Umair Waheed, architect
This foresight has added benefits for Waheed. ‘If Finchley Masjid would knock it down and start again, they would have to go somewhere. Then the community becomes fractured. So, you know, when you’re talking about sustainability, it is not just about the construction and the materials. It is also about how you were serving the needs of the local community.
‘And if people are currently walking to a Masjid that’s there and then for years it’s not there and it’s being built in phases, I don’t see that as sustainable for those communities. I see the exact opposite because then they have to go somewhere else.’
The lesson of Homebase
Alam summarises the project. ‘There’s a famous story about not getting Homebase. The trustees were asked why we didn’t acquire it. They could not fathom that the Muslim population would grow by that much in Barnet, that it would require the space. So they thought that the building – even before the 2008 extension – was more than enough for the Muslims.
‘Given Homebase is now being developed as a residential place, if we were to start all over again, it might be better to knock everything down and begin again but we don’t have that kind of money. We don’t have that sort of luxury to our disposure.’
Looking ahead to 2030
Caption: Awaiting confirmation of whether the earlier main hall extension was 2008 or 2011
Since being granted planning permission and the subsequent legal agreement with Barnet Council signed on 20 November 2020, Trustees and volunteers involved in the Front Extension have been working hard to take the project to the next stage.
The fifth of IANL’s Strategic Priorities for 2030 is driving excellence, governance and sustainability. Allah, Most High, praises striving for these principles, ‘(55:60):
هَلْ جَزَآءُ ٱلْإِحْسَٰنِ إِلَّا ٱلْإِحْسَٰنُ
‘Is there any reward for goodness except goodness?’
The development of North Finchley Masjid symbolises these principles and, in sha Allah, the result will also.
Support the mosque extension project
Every phase of the extension is funded by our community — and every contribution, big or small, brings the next phase closer. Insha’Allah, together we’ll build a masjid that serves Finchley for generations.
