From left to right: Jessam Al-Jawad (Al-Jawad Pike); Zeina Koreitem (MILLIØNS); Meriem Chabani (NEW SOUTH); Ali Ismail Karimi (Civil Architecture).
- The AlMusalla Prize is an international competition to design a musalla—a modular space for prayer and contemplation—for the Islamic Arts Biennale, the world’s first and only biennial dedicated to the arts of Islamic civilizations, past and present.
- The 2027 shortlist includes Al-Jawad Pike (UK), Civil Architecture (Bahrain/Kuwait), MILLIØNS (USA), and NEW SOUTH (France).
- The prize has established itself as a global platform for architectural innovation, with the previous edition’s winning design garnering international acclaim at the Venice Architecture Biennale and the Bukhara Biennial.
The Diriyah Biennale Foundation is proud to announce the four architecture studios shortlisted for the AlMusalla Prize 2027. Launched by the Foundation in 2024 to reimagine the futures of spaces of worship, the Prize returns for its second edition as a centerpiece of the third edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale, opening on November 1, 2027. The competition invites architects to design an adaptable, flexible musalla—a space for prayer and contemplation open to all visitors.
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. After the close of the Biennale, the musalla will be relocated to its permanent home at the industrial heritage district of JAX, a burgeoning multidisciplinary creative district in Saudi Arabia’s cultural capital of Diriyah. The shortlisted studios were invited to design one musalla that will flourish at both sites: an expansive, open site under soaring canopies at the Western Hajj Terminal in Jeddah, and among a tightly knit collection of former industrial warehouse spaces at the JAX District in Diriyah.
Aya Al-Bakree, CEO of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation:
“Reimagining and transforming urban spaces as living cultural spaces that nurture community and expand public engagement with original ideas has been embedded in our Foundation’s DNA since its inception. From the adaptive reuse of the warehouses at JAX, to the iconic canopies of the Western Hajj Terminal, our intention is to transform sites into platforms of cultural exchange and collective experience. 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.
This year’s shortlist is especially compelling for both its geographic breadth and conceptual ambition. From practices deeply rooted in the region’s urban landscape to studios rethinking the social and material possibilities of architecture, each team brings a distinctive perspective, which will culminate in ideas that enrich the Islamic Arts Biennale and our visitors’ understanding of Islamic cultures, past and present.”
The four shortlisted firms were selected for their ability to harmonize spiritual practices with sustainable innovation, and each brings a distinct lens to the challenge of the prayer space. Al-Jawad Pike (UK) is celebrated for its research-driven, design-led approach and a sensitive, atmosphere-focused use of materials, while Civil Architecture (Bahrain/Kuwait) complements this with a practice deeply concerned with the historical and social textures of the Middle East, interrogating the civic character of architecture in a globalized era. MILLIØNS (USA), a Los Angeles–based multidisciplinary studio noted for site-specific work grounded in deep historical and geographic research expands the international dialogue, and NEW SOUTH (France), a socially engaged practice led by an architect-anthropologist team brings a critical, narrative-focused lens to the intersections of human history and contemporary heritage.
Top row (left to right): Jessam Al-Jawad and Dean Pike, Al-Jawad Pike [© Al-Jawad Pike]; Ali Ismail Karimi and Hamed Bukhamseen, Civil Architecture [© Marilyn Clark]. Bottom row (left to right): John May and Zeina Koreitem, MILLIØNS [© Logan White]; Meriem Chabani, NEW SOUTH [© Njeri Njuguna, Séga Kanouté].
The challenge for this edition of the AlMusalla Prize was to design a single intervention for two different sites and contexts, in Jeddah and Diriyah. This contrasts with that of the first edition 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 shortlisted architects for the AlMusalla Prize 2027 are set to advance to a final evaluation phase conducted by a specialized jury. This jury will be chaired by Prince Nawaf Bin Ayyaf, CEO of the Architecture and Design Commission at the Saudi Ministry of Culture, and is expected to comprise experts in architectural history, practice, and sustainability, with a particular focus on the nuances of Islamic architecture.
Prince Nawaf Bin Ayyaf, jury chair of the AlMusalla Prize:
“The AlMusalla Prize offers a unique challenge: to design a structure that is both transient and permanent, rooted in tradition yet forward-looking. The jury is looking for a proposal that demonstrates exceptional material innovation, architectural integrity, and, above all, a profound understanding of the sanctity of the prayer space.
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.”
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. Following the four-month duration of the Biennale, the structure will be dismantled and permanently relocated to JAX District, Diriyah.
The winning design will be announced in March 2027, with its inauguration coinciding with the opening of the third edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale.
The competition is organized by Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC) on behalf of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation.
Notes to Editors
About the Islamic Arts Biennale
The Islamic Arts Biennale is a platform for a new discourse about the arts of Islamic societies from around the world and a constantly shifting constellation of institutions and objects, both historical and contemporary. Organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, it takes place at the Western Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, a site that has strong connections to faith and cultural heritage through its role as a port of entry for millions of pilgrims on their journey to Makkah and Madinah.
The Islamic Arts Biennale includes presentations of AlMadar (“The Orbit”), an ongoing initiative that promotes collaboration and dialogue between institutions with significant collections of Islamic art. Institutions from around the world contribute to AlMadar through the loan of objects from their collections. The result is a temporary collection that emphasizes different historical and contemporary contours with each edition of the Biennale, acknowledging the global histories of collecting and the movement of people and ideas that has always characterized Islamic societies.
About the Diriyah Biennale Foundation
Inspired by the changes taking place in Saudi Arabia and the heritage site of Diriyah, and chaired by H.H. Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud, the Diriyah Biennale Foundation (DBF) assumes a critical role in nurturing creative expression and instilling an appreciation for culture and the arts and their transformative potential. The Foundation aspires to be a catalyst for lifelong learning and serves Saudi Arabia’s communities by offering opportunities to engage with the burgeoning local art scene. Central to the Foundation’s mandate is to stage two recurring world-class Biennales of contemporary and Islamic arts, year-round interactive educational programs, and overseeing the activation of JAX, a creative district with industrial heritage in Diriyah. At this historic moment of evolution and growth in Saudi Arabia, DBF’s Biennales showcase some of the world’s leading artists, drive cultural exchange between the Kingdom and international communities, promote dialog and understanding, and further establish Saudi Arabia as an important cultural center.
About JAX District
JAX District is Saudi Arabia’s “home of creativity”—a multidisciplinary creative district with an industrial heritage that provides space for the individuals and institutions shaping the country’s cultural future. JAX District is situated in the heart of Diriyah, home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of At-Turaif, near the Saudi capital of Riyadh. Revived in 2020 as a destination for creativity, JAX District is dedicated to the development of homegrown creative initiatives, production, and events by transforming its vast warehouses into versatile, shared spaces for Saudi Arabian and international artists, galleries, and institutions to convene and create. Today, JAX District is home to some of Riyadh’s most exciting cultural events, including the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation; the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMoCA), the first museum of its kind in the country; MDLBEAST XP Music Futures, Noor Riyadh light festival; and Hia Hub, Saudi Arabia’s largest fashion and lifestyle conference.
About the Shortlisted Firms
Al-Jawad Pike is an award-winning London-based architectural studio founded in 2014 by Jessam Al-Jawad and Dean Pike. The practice operates across a variety of sectors including private residential, multi-unit housing, office fit-out, luxury retail, and temporary installations, with experience spanning the UK and international contexts. The studio is recognized for the quality of its built work and a strong design-led approach. Its architecture seeks to create meaningful and enduring environments that positively shape the experiences of users and the wider community. Projects are characterized by a sensitive use of materials, careful attention to atmosphere, and an intuitive understanding of construction and detail. The practice’s process is both meticulous and exploratory, underpinned by research, technical expertise, and close collaboration with clients, consultants, and contractors.
Civil Architecture is a cultural practice preoccupied with the making of buildings and books about them. Based in Bahrain and Kuwait, Civil Architecture asks what it means to produce architecture in a decidedly un-civil time, presenting a new civic character for a global condition. Since its founding by Ali Ismail Karimi and Hamed Bukhamseen, the practice has attracted a strong following for their provocative works and their offer of an alternate future for an evolving Middle East. Civil Architecture curated the Kuwait Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale, and their work has been shown at the Oslo Architecture Triennale, Seoul Biennale, Amman Design Week, the Cincinnati CAC, Design Doha, the Islamic Arts Biennale, Maia Architecture Month (MAM), and Expo 2020 Dubai.
MILLIØNS is a Los Angeles–based multidisciplinary architecture practice, whose work spans various scales and media formats, including buildings, interiors, exhibitions, furniture, books, and environments. Founded by Zeina Koreitem and John May, the practice has realized projects in the US and internationally, including speculative and completed works in California, New York, Boston, Beirut, France, Germany, and Taiwan. MILLIØNS frequently collaborates with artists, curators, and museums to develop site- and culturally specific projects meant to resonate with the publics that visit and experience them. The firm has received numerous awards, including the Wallpaper 400 for two consecutive years (2024–2025), for work “shaping America’s creative landscape.” In 2019, MILLIØNS was selected as the winner of an international competition to reimagine the east wing of I. M. Pei’s Everson Museum in Syracuse, New York. MILLIØNS’ approach insists on a parallel commitment to research—cultural, historical, geographic, technological—which informs every project. Their approach demands an intensive commitment to the ideas and possibilities that impact each commission, leading to novel and—at times—radical proposals that embrace architecture’s commitment to public life, at both a global and local scale. MILLIØNS’ work is committed to social and environmental equity, through ongoing research into the impacts of materiality and space on contemporary social life.
NEW SOUTH is an award-winning architecture, urban planning, and anthropology practice. Led by architect Meriem Chabani (Algeria, France) and architect-anthropologist John Edom (United Kingdom), the practice is recognized for its critical, socially engaged architecture, from the Swann Arr Cultural Center in Myanmar and the Globe Aroma refugee art center in Brussels, to the forthcoming Mosque Zero in Paris. In 2020, NEW SOUTH received the Europe 40 Under 40 award from The European Centre for Architecture and The Chicago Athenaeum. In 2024, it was recognized as one of France’s leading female-owned architecture firms, and in 2025, Le Monde named Meriem Chabani among the country’s most influential creative voices.