Three houses, one garden, inside Abu Dhabi’s Abrahamic Family House

Abu Dhabi: On Saadiyat Island, a short distance from the Louvre Abu Dhabi, three near-identical cubes rise from a shared plinth. One is a mosque, one a church, one a synagogue. Between them lies a garden, and beneath them a forum where visitors of every faith are invited to meet.

Designed by Sir David Adjaye and opened to the public in 2023, the Abrahamic Family House takes its name from the figure revered in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Its architecture makes the point quietly: the three buildings share the same scale and geometry, but each has its own character, orientation, and sacred details.  The multi-faith campus in Abu Dhabi, a city that is home to all.

Why Abraham?

Abraham is the forefather of the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the structure was dedicated to the pursuit of peaceful coexistence for generations to come.

All three houses of worship sit atop a single-story pedestrian pavilion or the secular forum and share identical cubic dimensions of 30 x 30 x 30 meters.

Imam Ahmed El-Tayeb Mosque

The mosque was inaugurated on February 16, 2023. Named after the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb, the place cast a white shadow of peace on the visitors. The elegant interiors with the light, the stone and the quiet adds a sense of serene in the hearts of the visitor.

The Mosque’s elegant and minimalist design is made up of seven arches, reflecting the importance of the number seven in Islam.

The Mosque incorporates prayer space for more than 300 worshippers

St. Francis Church

The church is named for St. Francis of Assisi. Its brown timber interior features a dramatic ceiling reminiscent of cascading light beams, bringing a warm, spiritual ambiance of a Christian worship place.

 The exterior columns emphasise verticality to express the concepts of incarnation and resurrection, according to official website.

The Church can accommodate more than 300 worshippers and, while open to all denominations, it is formally a Catholic church, administered by the Vatican in Rome.

Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue

The synagogue is named for the medieval scholar Moses Ben Maimon, known as Maimonides.

Inside the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue, a large sanctuary welcomes more than 200 worshippers. The building also houses a mikveh- a ritual bath; and a beit midrash- a study hall, giving Abu Dhabi’s growing Jewish community a full home for prayer, ritual, and study, the first of its kind built for that purpose in the UAE.

It features a unique V-shaped crisscrossed stone facade that references the palm fronds of the Sukkah, with an intricate mesh interior hanging overhead to filter light.

Can architecture create coexistence?

The project grew out of the 2019 declaration signed in Abu Dhabi by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, which promoted peaceful coexistence between faiths. It’s meant to be a physical statement that Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, which all trace their roots to Abraham, can share space. It also functions as a visitor and education centre, not just a place of worship.

Each separate building connects through a central garden that will house a museum and centre for education. According to Adjaye, the design was more about inclusivity, such that the monument ensure accessibility for all, including the people of determination.

The place also has an ‘Intention Wall’, a free space where visitors can leave their thoughts, intentions and reflections, these are tiles in triangular shapes where people can write down what they have in mind, to leave a piece of themselves at the doors of inclusivity.

Their official website even mentions, how one can reach there by bus, car, taxi and even detailed directions on the parking facilities.