A contemporary, eco-friendly mosque designed by an Emirati architecture student as part of his graduation project has been picked up for development, it was announced on Monday.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment in Abu Dhabi said that it would build the project on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, with the mosque and Islamic Centre set to be made of eco-friendly building materials and partly illuminated by natural light.
The ALHOSN University graduate has combined sustainable elements with modern design to create a building that is very different from the traditional architecture and design of typical mosques in the region, said Professor Abdul Rahim Sabouni, vice chancellor and CEO of ALHOSN University.
“Suhail Mohammed Suleiman was inspired by the Islamic doctrines of ‘Shahada’, the declaration of belief, and ‘Tawheed’, (monotheism) to come up with a unique design that reflects the bright future of Islamic architecture in the UAE,” Professor Sabouni said.
“ALHOSN University is very proud of him and extends its full support for the transformation of his project from the drawing board to reality,” he added in a report by Middle East Online, a London based website.
Suleiman himself said that he hoped his project would make the UAE renowned for its ‘modern Islamic spirit’, while also embodying ALHOSN’s philosophy of ‘global knowledge with local vision’.
Furthermore, the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council announced that the project had received a five Pearl rating from Estidama, the sustainability framework aligned with Abu Dhabi’s Vision 2030 development plan.
Named after Abu Dhabi’s ALHOSN Palace, the university was founded in 2005 by the Abu Dhabi Holding Company as it looked to provide a high-quality, value based educational institution.
It currently offers 12 undergraduate and 7 graduate programs under the Faculties of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Business and Arts and Social Sciences.