Dubai Mosque | United Arab Emirates | michelangelo acciaro

this mosque's relatively unusual design is a formal response in a continuation of a process of re-interpretation and suggestion as well as reference to tradition. the mosque must have meaning for the people who use it, so it refers to elements that people perceive as traditional, but represents at the same time very contemporary outlines. the water-surrounded longitudinal islet is, by way of example, situated in a seaside place. the base is composed by two layers containing parking spaces on one side, and functional facilities including a library on the other one. the rich green park on the top layer is interrupted by two minarets, water surfaces, a large prayer hall and the women's prayer room, which emerge from the base and are both oriented towards makkah. the traditional elements of dome and minaret have been kept, reinterpreted and designed as part of the overall formal dynamic of the whole building ensemble. the prayer hall is a spacious sphere. its facades and interior walls are decorated with large scale ornaments representing plants and abstract patterns, holding together the surrounding walls and filtrating the light without permitting to have a closer look outside and without distracting the prayers. through this abstraction process, a design is created that is part structural, part enclosure, part islamic pattern and part abstract shape to suggest permeability, continuation and latticework, key themes of islamic design." © michelangelo acciaro