JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Biennale Foundation has announced four architecture studios that are shortlisted for the AlMusalla Prize 2027.
This international competition, now in its second edition, invites architects to be innovative and to reimagine an adaptable, flexible musalla — an inclusive space for prayer and contemplation.
The four shortlisted firms are: Al-Jawad Pike (UK), Civil Architecture (Bahrain/Kuwait), MILLIØNS (US), and NEW SOUTH (France).
They were selected for their ability to harmonize spiritual practices with sustainable innovation, according to a released statement.
Al-Jawad Pike is known for its research-driven, design-led approach and atmosphere-focused use of materials; Civil Architecture is connected to the merging of historical and social textures of the region, interrogating the civic character of architecture in a globalized era, the statement added.
MILLIØNS, a Los Angeles–based multidisciplinary studio, is noted for site-specific work grounded in historical and geographic research, and NEW SOUTH, a socially engaged practice led by an architect-anthropologist team, brings a narrative-focused lens to the intersections of human history and contemporary heritage, according to the biennale.
The prize’s previous winning designs were showcased at the Venice Architecture Biennale and the inaugural Bukhara Biennial.
“In only two years since we launched the AlMusalla Prize, its remarkable growth and international recognition reflect a global appetite for places of contemplation that honor heritage but that also engage with the needs and aspirations of contemporary society,” Aya Al-Bakree, CEO of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, said.
The winning design will be announced in March 2027 and will serve as a centerpiece for the upcoming third edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale, scheduled to open on Nov. 1, 2027.
As it has in previous iterations, the musalla will be built on the site of the Islamic Arts Biennale at the SOM–designed, Aga Khan Award–winning Western Hajj Terminal at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.
Following the four-month duration of the biennale, the structure will be dismantled and permanently relocated to JAX District, Diriyah.
The new challenge for this edition of the AlMusalla Prize is to design a single intervention for two different sites and contexts: Jeddah and Diriyah.
This contrasts with that of the first editions of the prize, in which architects were invited to create a “traveling musalla,” which was designed to be easily demountable and built first in Jeddah at the Islamic Arts Biennale 2025, before being presented at the Venice Architecture Biennale and the inaugural edition of the Bukhara Biennial and ultimately returning to Jeddah.
The structure must meet all requirements for prayer: maintain a maximum footprint of 20 × 20 meters and adhere to a maximum height of 12 meters.
This jury will be chaired by Prince Nawaf bin Ayyaf, CEO of the Architecture and Design Commission at the Saudi Ministry of Culture.
“We are not just selecting a design; we are selecting a contribution to the ongoing global discourse on contemporary Islamic art and design, which has already proven its reach and resonance on the world stage,” Prince Nawaf said in a statement.
