An architectural element that communicates elegance, lucidity and harmony; one that compliments the context into which it is placed yet simultaneously stands out as a landmark throughout the world.

A mosque that reflects the true virtues of Islam; a religion that is beautiful in its transparency and honesty, one that is an open book to all whom wish to learn more about its purity and values.

The above principles were the driving force for MSSM Associate’s conceptual, architectural and urban design proposal for the ‘Iconic Mosque’. The virtues of Islam that spread beauty, harmony, transparency, respect, acceptance and tolerance throughout the world has unfortunately been skewed in recent years by a microscopic minority. However, this has not deterred the true values of Islam to continue to persevere and stand firm against those who will always be unsuccessful in befouling it. Throughout the world, people who believe in justice and morality have come to the defence of Islam’s true teachings through different mediums. Whether it was through lectures, media outlets, sports events, charity functions or any other medium; people of all faiths have always banded together to defend the righteous through serenity, hospitality and companionship. It is this onto which the initial design concept has been developed. A mosque that presents Islam to the world through its morphology, one that is inviting to all who wish to learn more about it. One that is not hidden behind solid walls, or highly detailed patterns; one that is simple, pure and transparent. One that breaks the dividing barrier to the outside world and allows those who are passing by to witness the religion’s beauty. One that represents all of the religion’s values without having to speak a single word.

As others have done and continue to do, it is MSSM Associate’s intention to amplify the beauty of Islam through the medium that we value the most… Architectural Form.

The challenging aspect of developing the morphology was the two defining yet conflicting axes. The first had to respect the axis of the urban development of the creek, which highlights the central radial plaza that houses the Dubai Creek Tower. On the other hand, the second axis had to undoubtedly direct the internal and roof praying spaces towards Mecca. The challenge arises when one axis take prominence over the other, as by doing so, it consequently suppresses the significance of the second axis. As such, both axes had to play a clear and defining role when developing the initial morphological distribution of the form, yet it was essential to ensure that neither axis took prominence over the other. As such, although the driving forces that defined the morphology were the two axes, they only served the design’s formal definition, where in the completed morphology, neither axis is visualised, thus, neither takes precedence. 

The intention of the design was to ensure that the morphological characteristics of the mosque complements the defining axes of the Dubai Creek Harbour as well as its primary architectural element, the Dubai Creek Tower. The design takes advantage of Dubai Creek Tower’s grandeur and embraces it, further accentuating its presence through employing it as a veiled minaret that can only be truly visualised when observed through a clearly defined vignette; formalised by the two primary architectural elements that define the linear axis towards the creek’s prominent central plaza.