Sacred scriptures and geometries envelop a mosque in Dubai

Along a busy street in the Al Quoz industrial area in southern Dubai, stands a new white stone mosque designed by Dabbagh Architects founder Sumaya Dabbagh. The Mosque of Light is one of the first places of worship in the United Arab Emirates to be designed by a female architect.

The architects' merit was that they were able to interpret the spaces of the mosque in relation to Islamic liturgical rites - from ablution to undressing to reading the Koran - gently leading the observant from the chaos of the city to the meditative practice of prayer in a gradual transition through sacred architecture. The volume of the mosque is separated into two bodies by a covered linear courtyard: on one side the prayer space surmounted by a double dome, with the women's prayer area on the first floor, and on the other the service block containing the ablution facilities, the Imam and the Moazen’s residence. The tower of the minaret stands out, separated from the main volume and signalling the presence of the mosque.

The surface of the building is entirely perforated with triangular geometries and sacred scriptures that diffuse natural light into the worship areas with delicate control and care to create a soft, naturally lit prayer space and an atmosphere of connection with the divine as well as contributing to the natural cooling of the mosque.