Al Fozan Award: Setting the Global Standard for Mosques

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 has ignited a cultural renaissance that treats the mosque not only as a sacred space but as a social, educational, and civic anchor. Across neighborhoods and new urban districts, communities are asking mosques to do more, welcome more people, serve more needs, and perform better in harsh climates.

That's where Abdullatif Al Fozan Award for Mosque Architecture comes in, a Saudi-born platform turning that ambition into a built reality. From Riyadh to Istanbul and into the heart of Africa, the Award spotlights inclusive, climate-aware, human-centered mosque designs that honor heritage while embracing innovation, and that prove architecture can strengthen community life as powerfully as any policy.

Early Origins and Purpose

The Abdullatif Al Fozan Award began in 2011. It is named after its founder, Sheikh Abdullatif bin Ahmed Al Fozan, to honor his charitable work. The award helps improve mosque architecture across the Islamic world. It does this by:

• Promoting user-centered design (mosques that serve people’s needs).
• Setting shared professional standards for quality.
• Recognizing the best projects as examples.
• Helping architects, scholars, and communities work together.
• Sharing practical knowledge so others can copy successful ideas.

From Visionary Governance to Global Recognition

Named in honor of its founder’s distinguished charitable legacy, the award is stewarded by an executive committee and a general secretary who nominate jurors each cycle and rigorously oversee evaluations through to the final selection of awarded mosques. Every cycle culminates in a widely circulated bilingual (Arabic and English) volume that offers critical and descriptive architectural analyses of shortlisted and winning projects.

This scholarly book debuts at the award’s prestigious triennial ceremony hosted in rotating cities worldwide, underscoring both the program’s intellectual depth and its international stature.

Why Have a Dedicated Prize for Mosques?

A mosque serves people of all ages and abilities, many times each day. So the first goals are comfort, clear wayfinding, and dignity for everyone. Good sound matters too: sermons and Qur’an recitation should be clear and calm, not echoing or noisy. Because these needs are different from other public buildings, a dedicated prize is helpful. It highlights proven solutions, publishes evidence-based standards, and helps cities and design teams deliver better results, faster.

Launch of Mosqpedia

Another landmark achievement from the Abdullatif Al Fozan Award is the launch of Mosqpedia, now live on the Award’s platform. Built as the world’s largest encyclopedia and database for mosque architecture, Mosqpedia gathers trusted case studies, drawings, and standards in one accessible place. This launch strengthens the Award’s role as a global knowledge hub, turning Vision 2030 principles into practical tools for designers, researchers, and communities. Alongside Mosqpedia, the Award’s mega projects, Asfaar and Mnaber, are advancing to expand this network and lift the quality of mosque design worldwide.

Urban Context and Community Role

Accessibility is the starting point. Entrances should be barrier-free. Paths inside should be easy to follow. Women’s spaces should have the same quality as men’s. Facilities for elders and families must be comfortable and respectful.

At the city level, a well-placed, well-designed mosque can shape the neighborhood. It can support walking, create cool shaded public areas, and encourage small local businesses. In short, the mosque and its surroundings affect each other. Together, they connect people visually, practically, and emotionally.

“The mosque’s relationship with its surroundings is crucial, as urban planning and development significantly influence its design. This led us to consider the socio-cultural role of the mosque and how it binds communities together visually, functionally, and emotionally.”

— Sheikh Abdullatif Al Fozan

Leadership Role in Global Architecture

The Award runs every three years with an international jury, allowing time to reflect and ensure both local and global values are respected. More than just giving prizes, it helps improve mosque design by hosting events, sharing ideas, and creating clear guidelines for cities and clients.

It has become a key platform where experts and the public learn from real examples, turning values like spirituality, hospitality, and humility into thoughtful, well-designed spaces.

World’s First Technical Codes & Guidelines for Mosques

A milestone in that journey is the launch of the Technical Codes & Guidelines for the Construction and Development of Mosques, the first comprehensive framework of its kind. Announced under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al Al-Sheikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance, and in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Special Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Chairman of the Award’s Board of Trustees, the initiative unifies engineering and architectural standards.

Its purpose is clear: to elevate quality and performance while preserving the authenticity of Islamic architectural identity. For clients, designers, and municipalities, these codes offer a practical, shared baseline that can lift thousands of projects, not just a celebrated few.

5th Cycle Evaluations Begin

The movement’s momentum is visible in the current triennial. As part of the 5th cycle of the Award, five distinguished experts in architecture, art, and the humanities are evaluating more than 200 mosques from around the world. The panel’s work is grounded in rigorous criteria and in-depth discussions, producing a shortlist that reflects outstanding architectural merit and community value. For young practices and public clients alike, the shortlist operates as a living syllabus showing how climate strategies, material intelligence, and human-centred planning come together in real places.

Scientific Innovation and National Impact

Award-recognized mosques often begin with time-tested principles: orientation to manage sun paths, shading through courtyards, colonnades, and deep overhangs, cross-ventilation supported by openings placed for prevailing breezes, and thermal mass that smooths daily temperature swings. These passive strategies are paired, when needed, with efficient systems that complement rather than substitute for good architecture.

Material choices reinforce performance and identity: local stone, brick, or earth reduce embodied carbon and harmonize with context, while durable finishes and modular details anticipate heavy daily use. Water stewardship, especially around ablution facilities and landscape, shifts from an afterthought to a design driver recovery and reuse systems, native planting, and shaded, wind-cooled outdoor rooms that invite gathering without excessive irrigation.

What’s Next

With the new technical codes in use and the 5th cycle now under review, the near future is about focus and growth. The next shortlist will also work as a teaching tool, with clear drawings, simple metrics, and short stories about community input, maintenance plans, and full life-cycle costs. We will also see closer teamwork between mosque committees, city officials, and universities, as research moves into pilot projects and then into policy.

For designers, the advice is practical: use the Award’s resources, compare your work to its criteria, involve users early, and measure real results. For clients and communities, the message is empowering: ask for mosques that welcome everyone, stand strong over time, and are easy to care for. Places that express identity without excess and support daily life with dignity.

Better Mosques, Together

This is Saudi leadership with global impact, raising quality not for a few landmark projects, but for thousands of neighborhood mosques. When we follow these standards and measure real results, we shape cities that feel dignified, rooted, and open. That is how Vision 2030 moves from a plan to a place. One mosque, one community at a time.

Discover more inspiring stories at Saudi Wins, where Vision 2030 comes to life.