JEDDAH: Three mosques from the Arabian Gulf have won awards for their architecture.
Msheireb mosque in Qatar, the Sheikha Salama Mosque in the UAE city of Al-Ain, and the Arcapita Mosque in Bahrain were all recognized by the Abdullatif Al-Fozan Award for Mosque Architecture.
Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, adviser to King Salman and governor of Makkah, and Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage and chairman of the award鈥檚 board of trustees, on Sunday honored the three winners at the Jeddah Hilton.
The awards, in their second cycle, received nominations for 122 mosques from the region.
The award prize of SR2 million was distributed among the three winners, from the SR60 million endowment that funds the award.
Prince Sultan said the main aims of the awards are to strengthen the relationship between the mosque and the community, as well as to motivate architects to enhance designs, with a focus on sustainable architecture, energy-saving features, lighting optimization and architecture that adds to the community.
The next edition of the awards, the third, will be open to mosques from the wider Muslim world.
Prince Sultan added that mosques play important roles in the life of Muslim communities, as places of worship and sources of tranquility and serenity, as well as places for social gatherings, bringing communities closer together.
Dr. Ibrahim Al-Naimi, secretary-general of the award, said the Abdullatif Al-Fozan Award has become a platform that raises awareness on the contemporary architecture of the mosque. It also aims to raise awareness of best practices for the design, construction, and upkeep of mosques.