engineering.
The 2024 AlMusalla Architectural Prize has reached its completion, with the winning structure now officially open as part of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation’s Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah.
Designed by EAST Architecture Studio, AKT II, and artist Rayyane Tabet, this year’s winning Musalla reimagines a sacred space through a modular pavilion crafted almost entirely from sustainable date palm waste. The design seamlessly blends tradition with modernity, with its courtyard and prayer spaces symbolising both unity and contemplation.
More than just an installation for the Biennale, the structure’s dismantlable nature ensures a legacy that extends well beyond the event itself. The AlMusalla Prize continues to set a benchmark for sustainable, culturally resonant architecture, celebrating innovation while honouring spiritual and environmental values.
The final panel discussion of opening weekend of the Islamic Arts Biennale was resoundingly set inside the courtyard of the Musalla’s date palm structure. The conversation was led by Prince Nawaf Bin Ayyaf, and explored the design process that EAST Architecture Studio, AKT II, and Rayanne Tabet, followed to deliver the competition winning scheme and into final delivery of the structure.
AKT II’s, Christopher Blust elaborated on the origin of adopting palm as a structural material, which was born out of the regions local historical craft of weaving palm fronds, as well as fitting in with the two sustainability principles adopted for the project: build natural, and build local.
The conversation evolved into the structural testing that was completed to understand material, but also the sustainability aspects in avoiding the waste from being burnt or going to landfill.
