The Mosque, a low key structure which deliberately avoids the monumentalism of the National Assembly Complex it is located, moves beyond conventional mosque architecture and points towards new direction in layout and design. Much of the mosque complex is hidden within the slope of the site, only parts of it rising above the surrounding landscape. This horizontal quality is reinforced by a fragmentary, abstract treatment of the conventional vocabulary. The minaret is represented by balconies and a cypress tree; the dome is replaced by a terraced pyramid which gives the impression of growing out the landscape.

The mosque also incorporates completely new spatial arrangements, including a glass qibla wall and mihrab. The view is onto a sunken, terraced garden. This mosque eschews dependence upon the architectural conventions of the past; it defies religious space through the treatment of form, space and light and the relationships of landscape and building. Architects have made a powerful statement about new symbolic possibilities and design alternatives for the mosque in contemporary world.

For having the boldness and courage to experiment with a different architectural treatment for mosque, this building was awarded by 1995 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. From its incorporation in the site, to the transparent qibla wall, to the absence of domes and formal minaret, this mosque challenges the conventional and opens the door to freeing up designers’ imaginations everywhere.