Multi-Faith Prayer Hall

On the border of the central Iranian desert, the project serves workers in a nearby power plant. The original brief called for a mosque only, but was expanded to serve worshippers of all faiths. The circular prayer hall is 9.5 metres in diameter and rises to a height of 27 metres; the domed top is pierced by an oculus for natural lighting. The steel-structure building sits within a large pool of water surrounded on two sides by a brick-clad barrel-vaulted passageway or riwaq that is a processional entrance from exterior sunshine into darkness, then leading into the light-filled worship hall. The interior is faced with specially-designed plaster panels carved by master craftsmen; the exterior is clad with blue tiles.Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture