Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s sustainability and innovation hub, has inaugurated a new mosque with a focus on sustainability.
The 500-square-metre domed Estidama Mosque is in Masdar Park and can accommodate 335 worshippers.
Designed in collaboration with X-Architects, the mosque has been built using techniques intended to minimise the need for energy-intensive cooling.
Estidama Mosque is a powerful symbol of our commitment to our community
Mohamed Al Breiki,
Masdar City's Executive Director of Sustainable Development
Traditional Arabic screens maximise natural light while reducing heat generated by direct sunlight, pathways to the building are shaded by trees and intelligent sensors manage lighting and ventilation. These features will reduce the need for cooling.
The mosque will use more than 50 per cent less energy than a traditional mosque building and conserve about 48 per cent of its water, state news agency Wam reported.
Masdar City will soon also have a net-zero energy mosque with a capacity for 1,300 worshippers.
“Estidama Mosque is a powerful symbol of our commitment to our community, our faith, and responsible stewardship of the earth,” said Mohamed Al Breiki, Masdar City's executive director of sustainable development.
“We see this as so much more than a house of worship – it's a community gathering place in the heart of our city where worshippers can look forward to a journey that is both environmentally conscious and spiritually profound.”
Striking UAE mosques - in pictures
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
