designboom visits first mosque built for women by ds+r
In the heart of Doha’s Education City, designboom steps inside the Al-Mujadilah Center and Mosque for Women, a groundbreaking space designed to empower women through worship, education, and community. The project, conceived by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, and designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), spans 4,600 square meters. It is the first mosque built specifically for women in the Muslim world. The building combines traditional elements with a forward-thinking spatial language, reflecting Islamic values of sincerity (ikhlas), service (khidma), and knowledge (ilm), while also addressing the evolving needs of women in religious, educational, and social domains.
‘To make a mosque for women was a really big challenge. It’s the first purpose-built women’s mosque anywhere, and we were very drawn to that. It’s also a hybrid building — a place for education and work,’ Elizabeth Diller, co-founder of DS+R tells designboom during our tour at the Al-Mujadilah Center and Mosque for Women. ‘Bringing those together under one roof, with classes and discourse and debate, was very important, because there was really no space for that to happen. It’s a paradigm-shifting thing that had to be translated in some form.’
all images by Iwan Baan
Al-Mujadilah hosts various activities under its perforated roof
Al-Mujadilah is both a place of worship and a meeting point for intellectual and civic discussions. Named after a Quranic figure who engaged in dialogue, the center is led by Dr. Sohaira Siddiqui, a scholar of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. The center hosts a variety of programs, from daily prayer and study to Jadal, an annual summit where voices from around the world come together to discuss the role of Muslim women in public life. When designing the program for the Al-Mujadilah Center and Mosque for Women, the team conducted extensive surveys to understand the challenges Muslim women face and their needs in a space like this. The research revealed three primary areas of interest: capacity building, including leadership, public speaking, and well-being; religious education that fosters critical conversations, rather than just traditional instruction; and community building. In a diverse city like Doha, creating a sense of belonging is crucial.
The building’s design by New York-based studio DS+R is both symbolic and performative. A large, flowing roof covers the space, rising to shelter the prayer hall before gently sloping down into the educational areas. ‘The roof is perforated with 5,500 small, conical openings designed to diffuse natural light throughout the space,’ Diller describes. ‘As the light shifts during the day, it softly washes the floor without allowing direct sunrays in—crucial in Qatar’s intense climate. Thermally efficient, only 5% of the roof’s surface is perforated, yet the conical shape allows 45% of the underside to glow. Structurally, the large steel span eliminates the need for interior columns, creating an open, uninterrupted space where visitors can see olive trees and feel a connection to the surrounding landscape. Support spaces are tucked along the periphery to maintain this openness.’ The mosque’s relationship to nature is intentional and layered. Two olive trees pierce through the roof, anchoring the main hall with the living symbol of peace and continuity. Landscape design draws from the regional archetype of an oasis, with wind-shaped dunes encircling a lush garden core. Materials like volcanic stone in the ablution areas and full-height glass in classrooms make the center more open and grounded in nature.
the building combines traditional elements with a forward-thinking spatial language
bespoke design for collective worship and learning in doha
Inside, the 875-square-meter prayer hall is aligned 17 degrees off-grid to orient toward Mecca, with a mihrab skylight spotlighting the niche at its core. Custom furnishings and a monumental hand-tufted carpet made of
New Zealand wool reinterprets traditional Islamic motifs at a collective scale, designed for up to 750 worshippers.
‘We found a beautiful Turkish prayer rug—just large enough for a single worshiper. We photographed it, digitized it, and then expanded it to fill the entire space. In the process, it became low-resolution, and we loved that. The colors became more raked and abstracted, yet the original composition remained—a central field framed by a border,’ shares Diller. ‘One key element we preserved was the 1.25-meter module, subtly embedded and slightly recessed into the surface. This unit defined a “row,” a spatial cue for individual worshipers. As people enter, they intuitively begin to define a space for themselves.’ During Ramadan, the hall extends into a flexible multipurpose area, boosting capacity to 1,300. Nearby, classrooms and a curated library housing over 8,000 volumes, including Islamic texts and works by Muslim women.
two olive trees pierce through the roof
the minaret draws from the traditional prayer ritual
A standout architectural gesture, the minaret is reimagined for the 21st century. A 39-meter mesh tower of speakers rises and descends daily, echoing the traditional muezzin’s call to prayer through kinetic ritual. Suspended in tension, the structure evokes the mashrabiya screen — a nod to vernacular Islamic architecture — while embracing a poetic blend of performance, technology, and faith. ‘Traditionally, the muezzin goes up the minaret and delivers the call to prayer to the community. Over the years, he was replaced by prerecorded prayers and speakers. We couldn’t bring back the muezzin, but we wanted to bring some of that tradition back into the call to prayer, which is really significant. So there are speakers that are going up. When the prayer’s over, they descend down slowly. We wanted to make this into a bit of a performance. Five times a day, it happens — and at night, it looks like a miracle,’ Elizabeth Diller explains.
Designed to achieve LEED Gold and GSAS 4-star certification, Al-Mujadilah also champions environmental responsibility with native plantings, recycled irrigation, low-flush systems, and energy-efficient fixtures. Elizabeth Diller describes the project as a deeply personal opportunity to reinterpret the mosque as a sacred space and a civic institution. ‘As a woman, the project was a special opportunity for me to design a space exclusively for women that is flexible and responsive to real-time, everyday needs,’ she reflects.
5,500 conical openings perforate the roof
addressing the evolving needs of women in religious, educational, and social domains
