On Weaving
The winning design for the AlMusalla Prize 2025, by EAST Architecture in collaboration with engineering firm AKT II and artist Rayyane Tabet, is almost entirely constructed from palm tree waste that was transformed into a novel building material. The musalla, first installed at the Islamic Arts Biennale 2025 in Jeddah, draws from vernacular practices from Saudi Arabia for a design that offers a flexible space for prayer and gathering. The design addresses togetherness and proximity, core dimensions of prayer in Islam. It is inspired by how craftsmanship and spirituality come together in weaving, consisting of an open central courtyard and prayer spaces that form a structure that resembles a loom.
In its move to Bukhara, the musalla embraces a new setting that has important common ground with its original context in Jeddah. Jeddah and Bukhara are both defined by their histories of openness to ideas and cultures from near and far. As a port city on the Red Sea, Jeddah is the point of entry for pilgrims traveling to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. It has hosted Muslims from around the world, who have contributed to the city's unique, welcoming culture. Bukhara was a leading seat of learning along the Silk Road, an incubator of theology, science, art, architecture, and commerce for over one thousand years. The musalla's journey between the two cities renews a deep connection between Islamic cultures and uses the presence of two international art exhibitions to propose a view of globalism centered on West and Central Asia. This carries out the ambition of the AlMusalla Prize to bridge Islamic architectural heritage with contemporary design and sustainability. With its presence in Bukhara, the musalla illustrates a living tradition that is multifaceted and shaped by many influences, just like the history of Islamic societies around the world.
