المملكة: Environmentally friendly and energy-efficient…the most important requirements for building mosques

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance confirmed that the construction and development of mosques in the Kingdom is subject to the architectural requirements contained in the Saudi Building Code.
She explained that mosques are unique in general standards for architectural design, as the percentage of buildings within the mosque building and the buildings attached to it are subject to municipal regulations, the geographical location of the mosque and the number of residents it serves in accordance with the technical guides for building mosques (urban planning requirements).

Requirements for building mosques in Saudi Arabia

She pointed out that the design of the mosque and its annexes must be integrated with the surrounding courtyards and gardens, enabling people to pray in them, in order to achieve the principles of sustainable architecture by providing shade areas for places that enable people to sit around the mosque.
The design must also take into account the privacy of the immediate surroundings by achieving privacy standards and legal aspects if it is located in residential areas with a high population density.
The concept of sustainability in the mosque must also be taken into account socially by making mosques an element of attraction and gathering for the population, and economically by making the mosque economically self-reliant without the need for external support.
As well as environmentally, by making mosques environmentally friendly and energy-efficient buildings. It is also necessary to achieve 50% of the building’s entrances to be easy to use and access, and to provide at least one entrance from the parking lot to the mosque or its facilities so that it is easy to access and use.

Building and developing mosques in Saudi Arabia

According to the guide to architectural requirements, accessories and supplements, the women’s prayer hall must be on the ground floor, taking into account audio-visual communication with the men’s prayer hall, and providing a prayer hall for elderly women on the ground floor if the women’s prayer room is on the upper floor.
She stressed that the mosque’s exit spaces must be appropriate to meet special strategic numbers for evacuation, and to provide a gathering point that can accommodate all worshipers who may be in the mosque, provided that this space meets the requirements for fire protection in the Saudi building code.
Regarding mosques attached to service centers on highways, the Ministry indicated that the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing issued a special regulation for the design of the mosque, which is designed for “100” worshipers and “50” female worshippers.

Mosque supplements and accessories

This comes with the provision of a waiting room in the women’s prayer hall for children and those with excuses, adjacent to the women’s prayer hall and with a glass partition, and that the men’s entrances be close to the women’s entrances with a curtain to give a sense of security during times when there is less movement in the station.
Regarding supplements to the mosque, it is required to provide one toilet for every “50” worshipers in residential areas, and “40” worshipers in commercial areas and investment markets.
Accessories for people with disabilities must also be installed in the bathroom in accordance with the Universal Access Guide issued by the King Salman Center for Disability Research and the architectural regulations in the Saudi Building Code.