The floor space is organised in a pentagonal shape that has several advantages: it allows for maximum internal prayer space, a clearly expressed qibla wall and – on the opposite side – two large porticoes that separate the men’s and women’s entrances in a natural way. The lateral extensions of the central pentagon offer spacious portico wings that invite and accommodate visitors. These locally inspired porticoes play an important role in the articulation of the exterior courtyards – which in turn cite typical mosque courtyards.

For the architectural concept of the prayer hall, we have developed a system of composite vaults that draw their inspiration from the heritage of the so-called “Muqarnas” vaults. The result is a blend of the local portico type with a hypostyle transition into the large dripstone vault of the prayer hall itself. It is a seemingly complex geometric, structural and spatial system that is in fact strictly developed from comparatively simple, interlocking, evolving surfaces.