<p>An architecture firm based in London has won a competition to design a museum of Islamic faith in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The Makkah Museum will be located seven kilometres from the Grand Holy Mosque, which is visited by millions of Muslims each year. <br /><br /></p>.<p>According to Mossessian Architecture, who collaborated with Paris-based exhibition architects Studio Adeline Rispal on the museum project, this museum will offer a unique interpretation and reflection of faith to the millions of Muslims who visit Mecca from around the world and who up until this point, have had no cultural institution of this kind to enhance their visit to the holiest of Muslim cities. <br /><br />The museum will include a public reception space, 5,600 sq metres of permanent and temporary exhibition galleries, an auditorium, an educational space, a bookstore, a roof garden and a restaurant.<br /><br />Studio Adeline Rispal of Paris designed the core of the building, which is occupied by a void that visitors will ascend as they pass through the exhibition galleries. Mossessian Architecture supplemented this by designing a continuous ramp system and a spiral staircase. In one of the gallery spaces at the base of the spiral, visitors can gaze up at the 99 ‘Beautiful Names of Allah’ inscribed on the underside of the cupola formed by the spiral. <br /><br />As visitors journey through the museum, they learn about the life of the Prophet though exhibits and panoramic films arranged on either side of the ramp, finally arriving at a ‘garden of delight’ at the top of the building. These geometric gardens form spaces where visitors can comfortably gather even in the hottest months of the year. The design also proposes using stones sourced from countries all over the world for the exterior of the building. <br /><br /></p>
<p>An architecture firm based in London has won a competition to design a museum of Islamic faith in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The Makkah Museum will be located seven kilometres from the Grand Holy Mosque, which is visited by millions of Muslims each year. <br /><br /></p>.<p>According to Mossessian Architecture, who collaborated with Paris-based exhibition architects Studio Adeline Rispal on the museum project, this museum will offer a unique interpretation and reflection of faith to the millions of Muslims who visit Mecca from around the world and who up until this point, have had no cultural institution of this kind to enhance their visit to the holiest of Muslim cities. <br /><br />The museum will include a public reception space, 5,600 sq metres of permanent and temporary exhibition galleries, an auditorium, an educational space, a bookstore, a roof garden and a restaurant.<br /><br />Studio Adeline Rispal of Paris designed the core of the building, which is occupied by a void that visitors will ascend as they pass through the exhibition galleries. Mossessian Architecture supplemented this by designing a continuous ramp system and a spiral staircase. In one of the gallery spaces at the base of the spiral, visitors can gaze up at the 99 ‘Beautiful Names of Allah’ inscribed on the underside of the cupola formed by the spiral. <br /><br />As visitors journey through the museum, they learn about the life of the Prophet though exhibits and panoramic films arranged on either side of the ramp, finally arriving at a ‘garden of delight’ at the top of the building. These geometric gardens form spaces where visitors can comfortably gather even in the hottest months of the year. The design also proposes using stones sourced from countries all over the world for the exterior of the building. <br /><br /></p>
