SOCIAL CONDENSER: A RIVER-SIDE SANCTUARY FOR WOMEN

Limehouse Condenser: A river side sanctuary for women includes a women’s only Mosque, a cleansing sanctuary to either bathe, swim or perform their ablutions, greenhouses to grow herbs and plants, a communal kitchen as well as provide emergency housing for women who have been victims of domestic violence. The proposal encourages the disparate and isolated communities to come together to share their experiences and create strong social interactions between the women and build a self-sufficient community. This project aims to withstand the issues of patriarchy and domestic violence by creating spaces that challenge the way the traditional family would live as a feminist architectural approach. Brick has been a crucial element to the design proposal as the perforated brick enables light to enter the building and illuminate the spaces. The light within the spaces is a metaphor of the idea that there is light shining on these women who are often lost and isolated. Throughout history women have often been treated as 2nd class citizens or completely ignored, particularly ethnic minority women whom society has been unjust with whether that may be through family systems or society as a whole. This project could be deemed as a revolution for Muslim women.