Embodying Belief: David Adjaye's Approach to Religious Architecture
Author: Sophie Kraft, McGill University
Editor: Marie Frangie
Introduction
Named after Abraham, the religious patriarchal figure who connects Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the Abrahamic Family House is a complex that includes three monumental buildings dedicated to each of these religions (fig. 1). Together on one complex, these colossal interfaith architectural structures, surrounded by ornate landscaping, bring together visitors from all backgrounds. The complex was built by Sir David Adjaye, a Ghanaian British architect who is famous for his monumental buildings and the fascinating, moving stories they tell. The project began in 2019, though completed in 2023 and is located in Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Cultural District on Saadiyat Island in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The island allows people to come together and engage in intercultural and intellectual exchange. Here, one can find the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Berklee Abu Dhabi, Manarat Al Saadiyat, and the future home of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. One may also come across the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi. This translates Abu Dhabi’s vision to create a country that celebrates culture and embodies the values of respect and coexistence.[1] The Abrahamic Family House is a testament to how religious spaces have adapted to the modern world and enhanced the relationship between people and the spaces they inhabit for religious worship. This paper will investigate religious tolerance in Dubai and the Abraham Accords, modern architecture in Dubai, religious transcendence, and how these ideas have adapted into this modern complex through the vision of architect David Adjaye. As a result, the purpose of this complex is to create peaceful worship and invite visitors of all backgrounds to see these religions coexist harmoniously. David Adjaye’s Abrahamic Family House is a religious ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ (German term for ‘total work of art’), combining interfaith architecture with Dubai’s sensationalist modern style; through this multi-sensory experience, Adjaye’s work enables visitors’ to practice religion and explore religious transcendence through their bodies.
Why and Who Commissioned the Abrahamic Family House?
In 2020 the diplomatic signing of the Abraham Accords commenced. The series of agreements, formally called the “Treaty of Peace, Diplomatic Relations and Full Normalization between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and the State of Israel,” reference brotherhood and their common ancestor, Abraham, to pursue a peaceful future.[2] The goal was to facilitate economic growth and trade between these countries in addition to diplomatic ties, but also facilitate cooperation in “health, agriculture, tourism, energy, environment, and innovation.”[3] This is a historic agreement to create normalization and reduce hostility in the area.
An excerpt from the document reads as follows: “We…recognize the importance of maintaining and strengthening peace in the Middle East and around the world based on mutual understanding and coexistence, as well as respect for human dignity and freedom, including religious freedom. We encourage efforts to promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue to advance a culture of peace among the three Abrahamic religions and all humanity…We seek tolerance and respect for every person in order to make this world a place where all can enjoy a life of dignity and hope, no matter their race, faith or ethnicity…We pursue a vision of peace, security, and prosperity in the Middle East and around the world.”[4]
The design of the Abrahamic Family House was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation during a meeting of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity in New York in 2019.[5] The Higher Committee of Human Fraternity has the goal of promoting peace on levels between individuals, organizations, nations and between humans and the environment. The notion of religious tolerance, manifested through the Abrahamic Family House, dictates how visitors of different faiths will interact with this space. Plans for the Abrahamic Family House invite individuals to participate in “religious services, guided tours, celebrations, and opportunities to explore faith and take advantage of daily guided tours which point out features of the design pertinent to the practices and traditions of each faith.”[6] The complex dissuades visitors from viewing the three religions as antagonistic groups. Rather, it invites believers of the three Abrahamic religions to consider themselves members of an ancient family that can be reconciled through the implementation of agreements and physical spaces to facilitate dialogue and interfaith religious tolerance.[7]
In the UAE, the Abrahamic Family House was built to overcome “polarizing dichotomies [to] search for common ground.”[8] In Jews and Muslims in Dubai, Berlin, and Warsaw: Interactions, Peacebuilding Initiatives, and Improbable Encounters, authors investigate the interactions between Jews and Muslims in contemporary Dubai. Throughout recent years, Europe and the Middle East have seen trends toward reinforcing ethno-religious and ethno-nationalist identities of the groups of people who inhabit them. Authors note that multi-denominational houses of worship are extraordinary in their impressive design plans and that this breakthrough in “trilateral interfaith relations” through the Abrahamic Family House is a perfect example of these relationships.[9]
Modernization of Religious Architectural Spaces
The dimensions of each of the buildings in the complex are “of equal stature, size and materiality to eliminate any sense of hierarchy.”[10] Together, they border an “elevated landscaped garden that becomes a shared space for gathering and connection.”[11] In their tremendous towering bodies, the buildings swallow up the ground below them, standing tall and ethereal in comparison to the human visitors who walk throughout. Religious spaces are often enduring and enormous in comparison to the people that exist within them, as the goal of these spaces is to make people feel part of a collective community with access to a greater, divine other that is watching over them. The grounds surrounding the three religious buildings are vast and also allow for 360-degree views of the architecture. The only other forms that attempt to compare to these buildings are the trees located around the complex, thus acting as a form of life to echo the height and stature of the architecture. Each house of worship is represented by a different species of citrus tree, and three Persian Mesquite trees create a connection between the religious buildings and their location, as it is the national tree of the United Arab Emirates.[12] Also in the complex stands an olive tree that is more than 100 years old to symbolize peace and interfaith connection.[13] The architecture prioritizes the human form, suggesting that religious enlightenment stems from the living body rather than the constructed one. Hence, the complex emphasizes the living form as the force that invigorates spiritual buildings. It is the people and passage of life that is so significant in religious tradition, and their presence in these spaces bring a form of life.
Adjaye realizes the buildings with simple geometric shapes and neutral tones to avoid referencing any distinctive religious architecture. No ornament or decoration exists on the structure; rather, the simple lines and explicit, clean, and pure geometric shapes define the building as modern. Both the function and the features are modern, adopting the ‘less is more’ ideology. The use of concrete, stone, and glass in the three buildings focuses on the intrinsic beauty of these simple materials and what they can create and facilitate. The lack of ornamentation forces visitors to look inward and experience the space and their body within it, hence offering a better opportunity to achieve transcendence and connection with religious practice. This reflects Adjaye’s attitude towards humans and his desire to focus on inner reflection rather than materiality and the commodification of religious spaces.
In Expressionism in Contemporary Religious Architecture, David Steiner investigates the five different streams that shape contemporary church architecture: structural innovation; aesthetic simplicity; return to enrichment; changing liturgy; and the beginning of a renaissance of religious art.[14] Steiner explores the significance and simplicity of light, colour, and texture, and how these can influence the feel of religious spaces. The strategic placement of windows and light in the three buildings highlights the natural materials and colours that Adjaye chose for the spaces. Whereas ornamented religious spaces around the world embody opulent exteriors and stained glass, dark wooded, highly decorated interiors, Adjaye employs an ‘aesthetic simplicity’ in his buildings that causes them to stand out.
In Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism in the Middle East, Mohammed Al-Asad explores the adaptation of Middle Eastern religious architecture that has shifted from primarily heavily decorated mosques to a more modern approach to architecture.[15] During the 1970s and 1980s, “most of the region's primary architects actively engaged in exploring new directions for mosque architecture, attempting to address the dichotomy that has existed between modern global identities and ones anchored in conceptions of the past.”[16] Modern architectural masters such as Gaudi, Le Corbusier, and Alvar Aalto created church designs that incorporated both spiritual and meditative forms of spaces rather than ones that look to the past for guidance, and the Abrahamic Family House does just this.[17]
The significance of religious architecture becomes evident in David Adjaye’s career as “the religious building type has often been the locus for advancement and invention in architectural design.”[18] In Sacred Spaces: Contemporary Religious Architecture, James Pallister suggests that the development of architecture has a history of borrowing and adapting from earlier styles. Though religious architecture has often tried to follow tradition, Adjaye subscribes to Pallister’s idea that these spaces are brought to life and offer divine experience because of the bodies that inhabit them rather than the ornamental or traditional form that the building possesses. Although architecture in and of itself may inspire and cause people to feel a certain way, what brings these spaces to life is their inhabitants.[19]
Religious Transcendence
The concept of transcendence offers insight into the role of architecture in facilitating spiritual experiences for visitors. Transcendence refers to the feeling of “surrendering to something larger and better than itself, a movement beyond disciplinary partiality for the sake of the whole or holy.”[20] In Transcending Architecture: Contemporary Views on Sacred Space, Julio Cesar Bermúdez proposes that to create transcending architecture is to understand society and the culture that the religious space serves. Bermúdez also argues that it was only after the institutionalization of the three Abrahamic religions that the need for a physical, religious space emerged.[21]
In “Religion, Space, and Place: The Spatial Turn in Research on Religion,” Kim Knott discusses the impact of the late twentieth-century turn from the study of religion towards the significance of religious space. This turn towards spatiality has prompted an investigation into the poetics of space and the role that religious spaces play in shaping individual encounters with the divine. In his modernization, Adjaye eliminates most decorative features of typical religious structures, keeping only the most central aspects of each religious building; i.e., the Bima in the synagogue (fig. 3), the Crucifix in the church (fig. 4), and the Mihrab in the mosque (fig. 5), which indicates the direction of Mecca. As a result, he allows the natural light and his simplistic architectural materials guide the transcendence of the visitor. The Abrahamic Family House shapes an embodied experience for each individual visitor, fostering a unique encounter with religious practice. Knott argues that “the poetics of space has continued to attract those whose spatial focus is experience, aesthetics, the senses, and the sacred” and that these spaces are the form of embodied experience for individuals.[22]
The Concept of the Body in the Three Abrahamic Religions
The architectural characteristics of religious buildings within the Abrahamic Family House reflect not only modern design but also a deep understanding of how visitors' bodies interact with these sacred spaces. These buildings, each oriented towards a significant religious site, serve as embodiments of the practices central to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The mosque is oriented toward Mecca, while the church faces the East, and finally, the synagogue faces Jerusalem.[23]
“The Concept of Body in Judaism, Christianity and Islam” by Yakir Englander explores the role ascribed to the body in Abrahamic faiths. In Judaism, the body is developed around the Halacha, which is Jewish law. He refers to physical acts, such as washing hands, ritual purity, circumcisions, and laying Tefillin as religious traditions that are focused around the body.[24] In parallel, central to the interior of the synagogue space is the Bimah - an elevated space reserved for the clergy - and the Ark, which holds the Torah. This floor plan fosters a close-knit community and centrality around the Torah and the leader of the service. The Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue of the Abrahamic House has a crisscross facade (fig. 2), referencing Sukkot, a Jewish holiday surrounding the harvest. The skylight allows light to shine upon the most holy areas of the synagogue. It also represents a Chuppah, which is used during Jewish marriages and held over a couple to represent the home they will create together.[25] The role of the body in the Halacha is reflected in the architecture of the synagogue, effectively shaping the religious experience of visitors in the space.
Similarly, Gregor Etzelmuller examines the body and its relationship to Christianity. The concept of the body is at the center of Christian theology and baptism.[26] The St. Francis Church guides visitors’ focus towards the cross that stands at the altar, acting as the centrepiece and focal point with wooden hanging sculptures perfectly shaping and guiding the viewer's eyes. The St. Francis Church is the Christian building of worship, named and dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi. The building and its orientation are thoughtfully placed, as it faces the direction of the rising sun—light being associated with divinity and transcendence. The columns that line the exterior facade of the buildings are positioned in such a way as to maximize light. In addition to this, the verticality of the columns expresses the concepts of incarnation and resurrection that are central to Christianity.[27]
Finally, Abbas Poya delves into the concept of the body in Islam and how the body is defined in relation to God. One of the prominent views of Islamic tradition is the material body and the value that is placed on the “actual, comprehensible, and verifiable practice of religious sites.”[28] Because Islam considers the body a creation of God, humans are meant to abide by divinely ordained rules pertaining to how they should conduct themselves with their bodies.[29] This is reflected in the mosque building through Adjaye’s use of simplistic features of the prayer space. While the Eminence Ahmed El-Tayeb Mosque honours many of the features of traditional mosques, it also succeeds in achieving harmony with the two other religious buildings.[30] The outdoor facade of the building is made of seven arches, reflecting the importance of this number in the Islamic religion. Adjaye plays with light, creating an intricate “mashrabiya”; which is described as a screen made up of delicate lattice work that is designed to let light filter through. This is done to preserve the privacy of the indoor space, while also maintaining a connection with the outside world and the other religious sites in the complex.
In “Space, Religion, and Bodies: Aspects of Concrete Emplacements of Religious Practice,” Martin Radermacher explores how the “concrete, material space of religious practice is not just a passive stage, but itself has an ‘agency,’ i.e., it shapes and facilitates discourse and embodiment of human actors in space.”[31] Religious practice and prayer are full-body immersive experiences and the crux of transcendence. He argues that religion has long ignored the body and the material aspects of buildings that play a role in religion. Spaces act by restricting and facilitating religious practices and how bodies interact, move, and sense their environment. The furniture guides the body through the different sections and facilitates congregation and seating where intended while also restricting the body from spaces where it is not meant to be. By intentionally designing and building this complex in a specific way, Adjaye’s “concrete spatiality” invites new forms of religious practice and interaction between visitors of all faiths.
In “Approaching Religious Space: An Overview of Theories, Methods, and Challenges in Religious Studies,” Jeanne Kilde studies both physical and imagined religious spaces and the power of places to “enhance or generate religious experience and reflection.”[32] There are intricate practices that go into designing spaces, ornamenting them, preparing people to enter them, dressing to enter them, and the rituals performed once inside.[33] A desire to keep these spaces pure differentiates the religious building from the mundane or secular buildings. Historically, certain spaces have been inaccessible because of power relations and racial, social, and gender hierarchies, however, the Abrahamic Family House aims to break this notion by inviting people of all backgrounds and beliefs to enter their premises and immerse themselves in the interfaith complex.[34]
Conclusion
The Abrahamic Family House stands as a remarkable testament to architectural innovation, interfaith dialogue, and the adaptation of religious spaces in a modern context and the UAE as a whole. The three buildings in the Abrahamic Family House complex are adorned with modern features in contrast to ancient and older religious complexes around the world. By seamlessly combining aspects of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religions into three monumental structures of equal stature and significance, Adjaye built a space where visitors of all backgrounds can come together. Where the synagogue, church, and mosque once served a specific purpose for a specific community in the past - for community gathering and prayer - they now also serve a larger, more experiential purpose of interacting with the bodies of those who pass through. With a dynamic and adapted approach to religious tolerance through simplistic modern architecture, the Abrahamic Family House extends beyond its physical dimensions. As visitors from around the world enter these modern, ethereal spaces, they are invited to transcend differences and embrace the shared humanity that physically and spiritually brings them together in the Abrahamic Family House.
Appendix
Figure 1: Adjaye Associates, The Abrahamic Family House Complex, n.d., Image courtesy of ArchDaily, https://www.archdaily.com/1002032/abrahamic-family-house-adjaye-associates.
Figure 2: Dror Baldinger, The Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue, n.d., Image courtesy of ArchDaily, https://www.archdaily.com/1002032/abrahamic-family-house-adjaye-associates.
Figure 3: Dror Baldinger, Inside Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue, n.d., Image courtesy of ArchDaily, https://www.archdaily.com/1002032/abrahamic-family-house-adjaye-associates.
Figure 4: Dror Baldinger, St. Francis Church, n.d., Image courtesy of ArchDaily, https://www.archdaily.com/1002032/abrahamic-family-house-adjaye-associates.
Figure 5: Dror Baldinger, The Mihrab, n.d., Image courtesy of ArchDaily, https://www.archdaily.com/1002032/abrahamic-family-house-adjaye-associates
Footnotes
[1]Saadiyat Cultural District Abu Dhabi, accessed February 14, 2025, https://scdabudhabi.ae/en.
[2]“Our Story: Human Fraternity,” Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, May 12, 2022, https://www.forhumanfraternity.org/our-story/.
[3]Amr Yossef, Rep. The Regional Impact of the Abraham Accords, vol. 2 (2021), https://mwi.westpoint.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/regional-impact-abraham-accords.pdf.
[4]“Abraham Accords,” U.S. Department of State, https://www.state.gov/the-abraham-accords.
[5]“Our Story: Human Fraternity,” Higher Committee of Human Fraternity.
[6] Matan Kaminer, “The Abrahamic Ideology: Patrilineal Kinship and the Politics of Peacemaking in the Contemporary Middle East,” Millennium: Journal of International Studies, November 20, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298231208446
[7]Kaminer, “The Abrahamic Ideology.”
[8]Marcela Menachem Zoufalá, Joanna Dyduch, and Olaf Glöckner, “Jews and Muslims in Dubai, Berlin, and Warsaw: Interactions, Peacebuilding Initiatives, and Improbable Encounters,” no. 13 (2021), https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13010013.
[9]Zoufalá, Dyduch, and Glöckner, “Jews and Muslims in Dubai, Berlin, and Warsaw,” 2021.
[10]“Architecture,” Abrahamic Family House, accessed April 21, 2024, https://www.abrahamicfamilyhouse.ae/.
[11]“Architecture,” Abrahamic Family House.
[12]Valentina Grossmann, “Abrahamic Family House by David Adjaye,” July 21, 2023, https://www.detail.de/de_en/abrahamic-family-house-von-david-adjaye#:~:text=Landscape%20architecture,particular%20significance%20in%20this%20ensemble.
[13]Grossmann, “Abrahamic Family House.”
[14]David Steiner, P., “Expressionism in Contemporary Religious Architecture/School of Architecture,” McGill University, 1967.
[15]Mohammad Al-Asad, “Religious Projects: The Quiet Decade,” Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism in the Middle East, Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2012.
[16]Al-Asad, “Religious Projects.”
[17]Al-Asad, “Religious Projects.”
[18]James Pallister, “Sacred Spaces : Contemporary Religious Architecture,” London: Phaidon Press Limited, 2015.
[19]Pallister, “Sacred Spaces.”
[20]Julio Cesar Bermúdez, “Transcending Architecture : Contemporary Views on Sacred Space,” Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2015.
[21]Bermúdez, “Transcending Architecture.”
[22]Kim Knott, “Religion, Space, and Place: The Spatial Turn in Research on Religion,” Religion and Society 1, no. 1 (January 1, 2010), https://doi.org/10.3167/arrs.2010.010103.
[23]Abrahamic Family House, “Houses of Worship,” accessed February 12, 2025, https://www.abrahamicfamilyhouse.ae/houses-of-worship.
[24]Yakir Englander, “The Concept of Body in Judaism,” The Concept of Body in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, December 4, 2023, 1–28, https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110748246-001.
[25]Abrahamic Family House, “Houses of Worship.”
[26]Gregor Etzelmuller, “The Concept of Body in Christianity,” The Concept of Body in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, December 4, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110748246-001.
[27]Abrahamic Family House, “Houses of Worship.”
[28]Abbas Poya “The Concept of Body in Islam,” The Concept of Body in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, December 4, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110748246-001.
[29] Poya “The Concept of Body in Islam.”
[30]Abrahamic Family House, “Houses of Worship.”
[31] Martin Radermacher, "Space, Religion, and Bodies: Aspects of Concrete Emplacements of Religious Practice," Journal of Religion in Europe, 2016, Vol. 9, Issue 4.
[32] Jeanne Halgren Kilde, “Approaching Religious Space: An Overview of Theories, Methods, and Challenges in Religious Studies,” Religion & Theology 20, no. 3–4 (April 2, 2014): 183, https://doi.org/10.1163/15743012-12341258.
[33] Kilde, “Approaching Religious Space.”
[34] Kilde, “Approaching Religious Space.”