Al Warqa’a Mosque / waiwai

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Text description provided by the architects. Designed with the intention of capturing the historical premise of a mosque as a communal space for worship, Al Warqa’a Mosque is a structure that also functions as a gathering place for the community. With the proliferation of the iconic Turkish Central Dome mosque typology in the UAE, the architects sought to return to a simpler design that is less focused on the mosque as an icon, and more as a social space. Al Warqa’a Mosque echoes the spatial simplicity of Prophet Muhammad’s 7th-century house in Medina, which is considered the first mosque in history. In what came to be known as the Arab Hypostyle typology, the original mosque structure was distinguished by an open courtyard surrounded by rooms supported by columns. The design approach behind this layout was influenced by an understanding of the mosque as a multifunctional space for the community to congregate and socialize in after prayer; in this way it is seen as an extension of its immediate environment.