Within each house of worship, visitors can observe religious services, listen to holy scripture, and experience sacred rituals. The fourth space—not affiliated with any specific religion—serves as a Forum for all people to come together with the collective ambition to convene spatially, through courtyards, a central entrance, a library, and exhibition space; and interpersonally, through educational and event-based programming. The architectural form of each building—the Imam Al-Tayeb Mosque, St. Francis Church, and Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue—is translated from its respective faith, carefully using the lens to define what is similar, as opposed to what is different.

Through the power of these revelations, the design emerges as powerful plutonic forms with a clear geometry: three cubes equal in volume (30 meters each dimension) nestled within a one-story plinth. The narrative of each religion unfolds through various scales—from structure to detail—and emerges through the elements of creation—water and light. Wrapped in off-white concrete that references the sand and mountains of the Emirates, the structures are illustrated with colonnades, screens, and vaults to represent their sacred natures, and each form is oriented towards religious references whilst sitting within a unifying garden of native vegetation.

The three houses of worship display a clear visual harmony while unique in architectural articulation and orientation. The mosque features a façade of elongated columns and latticework mashrabiya, while the interior is defined by nine ascending vaults that orient visitors toward the mihrab. The church’s forest of columns symbolize rays of light, while timber battens cascade from the ceiling in a “shower of ecstatic redemption.” The synagogue’s V-shaped columns reference overlapping layers of palm fronds on the sukkah, and a bronze mesh tent suspended from a central skylight symbolizes the tent-like structure of the sukkah and original tabernacle.

Each also includes a courtyard with water feature and ancillary spaces specific to its specific religious traditions and practices. The discovery continues with the common ground—the garden and public spaces in-between—which is used as a powerful metaphor, a safe space where community, connection, and civility combine. With access to each religious space’s courtyard, the Forum serves as a place of convergence, rather than divergence. The raised garden creates a viewing platform to take in all three religious structures, promoting a sense of harmony and interconnectivity whilst asserting their individualism.

Punctuated by planters with regional vegetation and water features for cooling, the garden becomes a climate moderated space of communal respite that encourages the celebration of collective history and collective identity.