The hovering geometric design for the Gateway Mosque marks the entry to the Palm Jumeirah archipelago development in Dubai, on a triangular site bounded by two existing highway bridges.
The client brief for a gateway design prompted a lifting of the building on a set of concrete piers, raising the traditional dome prayer hall in the sky over a large ablution courtyard. In this project, the courtyard with its ablution pool occupies the entire ground level.
The geometry is formed by a great ellipsoid cutting against the lower portion of a sphere, creating a catenary roof form that covers the prayer hall. The intersection of geometry positions the axis to Mecca at the full height of the sphere, resulting in the profile of a crescent moon. Suspended above the catenary roof structure is a spherical dome which encloses the center of the building. The gold clad dome is penetrated by a ring of skylights allowing daylight to enter along the mosque’s entire perimeter edge.