The “Hazrat Vali Asr (AS) Mosque” in Tehran is a religious structure participating in the “Religious” category of the Festival with other finalists from Turkey, Thailand, Portugal, India, Singapore, and the UK.

The mosque is situated in Tehran’s Vali Asr junction. It has often been criticized for being unconventional and lacking the traditional dome and minarets.

Its wave-like structure has been designed by Reza Daneshmir and his spouse Catherine Spridonoff in an area measuring 3855 square meters on seven floors with a height of 32 meters. It has a basement of 20 meters.

In a previous interview with the Guardian, Reza Daneshmir had said: “A traditional mosque next to the old City Theater would clash with its surroundings. We intended to create a building in harmony with its setting. Our best guide in doing so was the Quran and the simple mosques of the advent of Islam.”

The couple pointed out that they were also inspired by the Al-Haram Mosque as the oldest mosque in Islam.

They believe simplicity was a feature of the initial mosques built and the overall design of Vali Asr Mosque depicts a dome.

Final winners of WAF 2018 will be announced on 30 November.