Board Approval Received
Jersey City, NJ
In spring 2019, GRO revisited the design of a new 15,000 SF contemporary mosque sited prominently at the corner of Montgomery and Florence Streets in Jersey City. The corner’s acute condition allowed us to position the building as an object in an urban field – an uncommon situation for structures in the city that allowed us to consider the aesthetic impact of all sides of the building. Historically, mosques have varied dramatically from region to region, with styles from open courtyard plans to pyramidal roofs to massive central domes. This mosque’s volumetric organization responds to the acute site conditions, the goal of visually bringing parishioners through the façade to upper prayer spaces, as well as to traditional prayer space orientation towards Mecca. Entry level administrative programs establish a connection to the site within the building’s lower volume, while the upper volume rotates to align with the Kiblah.