The KAFD Grand Mosque is the Juma’ah (Friday) mosque and an architectural centerpiece of the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 65,668-square-foot structure is situated on an urban plaza used for public space which doubles as an area for outdoor prayers. Inside, the open floor plan can accommodate 1,500 prayer spaces over two levels. Designed by the Riyadh-based architecture and engineering firm Omrania and Associates, the mosque is inspired by the form of the desert rose and has been nominated for a variety of design awards.
How it Started
Edge Consultants was the LEED Executive on a portfolio of 32 buildings at KAFD and the mosque was one building in this portfolio. The Grand Mosque was the most unique and iconic of the collection of buildings and was a particular challenge for achieving LEED Silver as so few mosques had been certified under LEED with the USGBC. Edge’s founders have been working on projects in Saudi Arabia since 2008 and are well versed in the culture subtleties that needed to be explained to the USGBC review teams.
Scope of Work
- Commissioning Authority: Creation of commissioning plan and document review
- LEED Executive: LEED documentation and strategic advice
- Energy modelling: LEED compliance energy modeling
Sustainable Project Features
Energy efficiency: The project was able to achieve a 15% energy reduction from the baseline through lighting savings and greater central plant cooling efficiency. The project also purchased Renewable Energy Credits as part of the owner’s commitment to environmental stewardship.
Water efficiency: Saving water was of primary concern for this project. One of the cultural differences that needed to be explained to the USGBC review teams, was the different gender mix of the project with a 60% male and 40% female ratio (LEED requires the use of 50:50). As the project had no urinals the team was able to express that the difference in gender ratio didn’t affect the water calculations, and a 32% water use reduction was achieved. The project also reduced irrigation water by 78%, and the water that was used for irrigation was from 100% recycled greywater.
Sustainable materials: Diversion from landfill and recycled materials were the focus for this project. On the project, 60% of the waste taken off site was diverted from landfills. The project team also managed to use 21% of the materials by cost from recycled sources.
Awards and Honors:
2017 Finalist, Religion- Completed Buildings – World Architecture Festival
2017 LEED Silver Certified New Construction – United States Green Building Council
2019 Nomination for Abdullah Al Fozan Award for Mosque Architecture
Design Team
Client – King Abdullah Financial District
Architectural and Mechanical Design – Omrania
Structural Engineer – Al Bawani Co
LEED Executive – Edge Consultants
Commissioning Authority – Edge Consultants
