The main mosque is located at the center of the master plan at the intersection of two major roads, and at a point where the adjacent buildings go as high as fifty stories. It is designed to show how to integrate a prominent building into the high density part of the plan. The principal problem is that of Trinity Church at the end of Wall Street or Boston’s Trinity Church at the base of Pei’s Hancock tower. How do you give an important but diminutive public building presence in a large space among much, much larger commercial buildings?

The site for this central mosque has prominence as it is approached from the west, the north and the southeast. It is relatively hemmed in on the northeast and southwest sides. Several things contribute to the presence of the mosque, but we developed a small raised enclosure for the mosque, still broadly open on the sides of the

principal approaches, but with enough of the sense of an enclosureto make the mosque feel large within its own precinct. The enclosure provides separation from traffic and a tranquil setting on the busiest intersection of the master plan.

From the outside the enclosing walls are shaded, nicely scaled and inviting. The principal approaches are from the southeast and northwest. From the northwest wide steps under a large shade tree lead to the small paved plaza in front of the mosque’s porch. From the southeast, two smaller sets of stairs lead up between the enclosures and the lower walls of a grove of date palms. The lawn and pool of this other space complement the small paved plaza in front of the mosque. There are many places to seek shade and relative solitude among the skyscrapers.