KAFD Grand Mosque, Modern mosque in King Abdullah Financial District, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
The KAFD Grand Mosque is a modern prayer house in the financial district with two levels and open halls free of interior support columns. The space holds approximately 1,500 worshippers and provides clear views to the prayer area from all positions.
The mosque was built in 2017 within the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, designed by the Riyadh-based firm Omrania and Associates. Its design was a finalist in the religion category at the 2017 World Architecture Festival. In 2019 it won the Abdullatif Al Fozan Award for Mosque Architecture and was listed among the top ten contemporary mosques challenging traditional Islamic architecture.
The mosque's name ties it to the King Abdullah Financial District, and it serves as the district's Friday mosque, hosting the jumu'ah prayer. Its form comes from the desert rose, a crystalline structure found in Saudi deserts, while the geometry follows traditional Islamic patterns. The mihrab is coloured glass whose triangular glazing abstracts muqarnas, and small ground-level windows carry layered Arabic calligraphy of Quranic verses.
The building sits at the intersection of three main pathways and is easy to locate. The open floor plan helps visitors orient themselves and move around the interior with ease.
The roof is covered in mosaics visible from all angles, and two 60-meter minarets feature windows decorated with Quranic verses in abstract Arabic calligraphy. These decorative details make the building stand out when viewed from outside.
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