The Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan Mosque, commonly known as the Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi, is an extraordinary building that attaches special symbolic importance to light.

Clad in marble and gold, the building is the third largest mosque in the world and already one of the world’s major religious landmarks, accommodating over 30,000 worshippers. Speirs + Major was approached to produce concepts for the entire project, inside and out including all public and religious areas.

The overall concept was designed to ensure the building had a landmark impact in the region and provide breathtaking internal spaces. As the Islamic religious calendar is based on the lunar cycle, the moon became a source of inspiration and a unifying element of the design.

A poetic look was created for the mosque, based on the image of a full moon with wisps of cloud moving across its face. The building alters character as the lunar cycle progresses, bathed in cool white light at the full moon, but shifting colour every two evenings, and growing gradually bluer as the moon wanes. On the fourteenth evening the mosque is lit in deepest blue to signify darkness - yet the viewer is never able to perceive the building changing from one colour to the next. Jonathan Speirs said:

Technically complex, the scheme involves hidden projectors which create the impression of clouds drifting from the direction of Mecca, slowly wrapping around the minarets and domes and across the surface of the mosque.

Maintainability was a crucial issue. In all, some 19,000 luminaires were used across the project, yet only six lamp types were used.

Indoors, the lighting design needed to provide coherence to the complex architecture and interior design, while being sensitive to the individual materials used. There were numerous challenges. We had to provide well-lit spaces for various purposes including for TV events; architectural details had to be carefully revealed; and yet, it was essential to conceal as much equipment from view as possible.

Light sources were integrated into coves, niches, ledges and behind the carved wood latticework known as Mashrabiya. The aim was to achieve as much of the light appearance and requisite levels using indirect wallwashing.

The result is that the building appears to glow with a natural luminance despite the predominance of artificial light sources. The designers highlighted special features of the building: marble panels, glass mosaics, carved gypsum panels and calligraphy. Each material is lit with an appropriate technique revealing its texture and natural veining. The Qibla prayer wall, pointing to Mecca, has become a unique art piece integrating light and material into a symbolic luminous panel. End-emitting fibre illuminates a gold-mesh curtain concealed behind the 99 inscribed names of Allah, while side glow fibres reveal the organic forms of vine fronds.

Essential to the success of the scheme was a constant process of testing and trialling. Concept design workshops and mock-ups were required to ensure that the many layered lighting effects created a single lit composition.

For more information on how the lighting was achieved, see the video.