For the interior design and creative ceiling category
Al Musalla in Al Hosn area in Abu Dhabi wins a prestigious award
The prayer hall includes a series of small connected buildings. From the source
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"Al Musalla", the iconic edifice in Al Hisn, Abu Dhabi, won first place in the International A + Architectural Award, in the interior design and creative ceiling category. And beating out several international projects participating in the award.
The Acting Undersecretary of the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi, Saud Al Hosani, said: "Al Musalla has achieved an advanced international position by obtaining this prestigious award for its outstanding architectural design."
He added, "The Al Hosn area is a physical embodiment of Abu Dhabi's heritage and ancient history, while the design of the prayer hall symbolizes its permanent cultural growth and development, and the department's commitment to preserving its heritage and building its future."
"A + Architect" is one of the largest international awards that seek to honor and highlight the best architecture projects every year, and attract thousands of entries annually. The award aims to promote and enhance the importance of meaningful engineering projects in the world, and to support the products that go into establishing these distinguished projects. The award winners for the year 2020 were evaluated by a prestigious committee of experts, based on several criteria, including: employing advanced methods, materials and technologies to build safer, cleaner and more resilient spaces for future generations.
The engineering team overseeing the establishment of Al Musalla built an area that revives and revitalizes the most important heritage and cultural sites in Abu Dhabi, and attracts a larger and more diverse audience from around the world, to learn about the emirate’s history and rich heritage.
Al Musalla represents an important element in the new cultural scene, as it is part of the plan to revitalize the entire heritage site surrounding the Al Hosn area. The prayer hall includes a series of small interconnected buildings that form a cave-like structure surrounded by a beautiful water lake.
The interior design of the prayer hall won the admiration of the award jury, as it is distinguished by its suspended ceiling punctuated by round openings that resemble skylights, and decorated with hanging lights with abstract star shapes, in reference to the use of stars in ancient navigation in the region. The concrete ceilings of the entrance halls and prayer halls are interconnected in wooden formations with copper-coated interiors, creating endless light reflections, unifying the ceiling details with the general plan of the project.
It is noteworthy that "Al Musalla" had previously won the grand prize in the category of completed religious buildings at the 2019 International Architectural Festival, which was held in the Dutch capital Amsterdam, last December.
• It is characterized by its suspended ceiling, punctuated by openings decorated with hanging lights with star shapes.
Saud Al Hosani:
• “The Al Hosn area is a physical embodiment of Abu Dhabi’s heritage and its ancient history.”