X Architects unveils plans for the Grand Mosque in Riyadh

Dubai-based X Architects has revealed plans for the Grand Mosque in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which will be fronted by a stacked minaret.

Planned to be built alongside Wadi Hanifah in Diriyah, the complex will house prayer halls alongside public facilities and planted courtyards across its 21,690-square-metre plot.

X Architects has designed the Grand Mosque in Riyadh

The project was conceived by X Architects as a “civic anchor” for the wider Diriyah Gate II development, which forms part of the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative.

“Our ambition was to design a mosque fit for a twenty‑first‑century, rapidly changing Riyadh, but one that carries its spiritual, civic and climatic responsibilities with enough depth so that it can serve many generations to come,” studio co-founder Ahmed Al Ali said.

It will be fronted by a stacked minaret

X Architects drew on the region’s traditional Najdi architecture for the mosque’s textured lattice facades, describing the building as a “contemporary Najdi landmark”.

Renders of the complex reveal its 12,300-square-metre volume carved with triangular openings and illuminated at night. Once complete, the monument will accommodate up to 11,400 visitors, according to the studio.

“The Grand Mosque is shaped by the specific grain of Diriyah – its mud‑brick heritage, the scale of the boulevard, the topography of Wadi Hanifah – and by the very real daily patterns of residents and visitors who will experience this sacred space,” studio co-founder Farid Esmaeil said.

Its lattice facades will be punctuated with triangular openings

At its street-facing front, the mosque will be signposted by a stacked minaret, which will have a matching latticed form. From here, a stepped entrance framed by a deep triangular portal is set to guide visitors into the complex via a shaded passage.

Within the complex, a central plaza will be used to host Eid prayers as well as community events and weekend markets.

Thick lattice walls with triangular openings will wrap around the volume to serve as a “porous edge” between the internal and external courtyards.

In line with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs mosque guidelines, the Grand Mosque will include both male and female prayer halls, ablution areas, and an external sahn, alongside classrooms, offices, a library and cafe.

Renders of the interior spaces reveal the lofty prayer halls, where lattice screens will filter in dappled light.

The lattice screens will filter dappled light across the interiors

Elsewhere in Saudi Arabia, Snøhetta has topped a metro station with a mirrored bowl-shaped canopy and OODA has unveiled designs for a training facility for Al Nassr FC.

The renders are courtesy of X Architects.