On Weaving Pavilion, AlMusalla / East Architecture StudioSave this picture!Courtesy of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation. Image Marco CappellettiJeddah, Saudi ArabiaArchitects: East Architecture StudioAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:350 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2025 PhotographsPhotographs:Marco Cappelletti, Mansour Alsofi More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. On Weaving, winner of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation's inaugural AlMusalla Prize, reconciles the historic and contemporary, giving new life to the ancient architectural traditions of Islamic prayer.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!It brings together the legacy of courtyard typologies in places of worship, the tradition of using date palm trees as a building material in Saudi Arabia, and the art of weaving, referencing ancient textile-making techniques indigenous to the Gulf region.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Set within the Western Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, the gateway for pilgrims to Mecca and Medina, the design of the modular musalla meaning a space for prayer is an exemplary study in materiality, craft, contextuality, and communality.Save this picture!Save this picture!Created for the Islamic Arts Biennale in January 2025, the musalla is designed and engineered by EAST Architecture Studio in collaboration with international engineering firm AKT II, and Beirut and San Francisco-based artist Rayyane TabetSave this picture!Save this picture!Not shy in scale to the vast semi-conical vents of the Hajj Terminal's roof above, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the musalla's grand, modular date palm structure pays homage to Saudi Arabia's culture and climate. Date palm, one of the region's most prevalent natural resources, usually a waste product, is here used in abundance creating a truly carbon-negative structure.Save this picture!Save this picture!Drawing on the regional craft and the tradition of weaving, the structure's open central courtyard and woven-like prayer spaces evoke a loom, while its facades weave together palm fronds and fibers. Gaps in the translucent facades conduct and diffuse the light.Save this picture!Set within a landscape grid inspired by the layout of palm tree plantations, used for shade by local populations for millennia, the musalla is in dialogue with the wider desert environment.Save this picture!Save this picture!Conversations continue back in the generous, communal central courtyard, whilst the prayer spaces more contained create a meditative atmosphere. Modular and multifunctional, the musalla, which can be dismantled and reassembled, will have a future life after the Biennale in Jeddah and beyond.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officePublished on January 29, 2025Cite: "On Weaving Pavilion, AlMusalla / East Architecture Studio" 29 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1026283/on-weaving-pavilion-almusalla-east-architecture-studio&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream