This project was carried out in two phases. In 1992, twelve umbrellas were installed in the two inner courtyards of the Mosque of the Prophet; and in 2011, another 250 umbrellas were installed in the open spaces surrounding it.
Tons of thousands of people congregate in those open areas every day, and there accordingly was a need to improve climatic conditions in them.
Abdullatif Al Fozan Award for Mosque Architecture addresses new ideas for mosque design around the world and encourages the innovations in planning, design and technology that can form the identity of mosque architecture in the twenty first century.