London studio Mossessian Architecture has won a competition to design the Makkah Museum, a new building dedicated to the Islamic faith in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The Makkah Museum will occupy a site seven kilometres from the Grand Mosque, which houses the Kaaba ? the most sacred location in the world for Muslims.

The building will include 5,600 square metres of gallery space to host exhibitions related to the international practice and history of Islam and the life of Muhammad.

It will also contain a reception area, an auditorium, book store, teaching space, roof garden and restaurant.

"The Makkah Museum will offer a unique interpretation and reflection of faith to the millions of Muslims who visit Makkah from around the world and who, up until this point, have had no cultural institution of this kind to enhance their visit to the holiest of Muslim cities," said a statement from Mossessian.
Mossessian teamed up with Paris exhibition architects Studio Adeline Rispal to enter the invited competition for the museum project. The duo were announced as the winners this week.

Rispal designed a central void inside the structure to act as a "virtual minaret" that visitors ascend as they move through the exhibitions.

"Mossessian Architecture has delivered this by devising a continuous ramp system to ascend the void, with a parallel spiral staircase for the descent," explained the architects.

"Both circular (like the celestial sphere) and ascend...