To celebrate Ramadan, local studio Faum Architecture and artist Zarah Hussain have created a vibrant pink pavilion in Bradford, the 2025 UK City of Culture, featuring repeating arch forms that reference Islamic and Gothic architecture.
The Infinite Light pavilion was designed for Ramadan Tent Project’s annual Ramadan Festival, marking the holy month of Ramadan.
Coinciding with Bradford’s designation as the 2025 UK City of Culture, the structure situated in front of its 18th-century City Hall draws inspiration from the collonaded courtyards of various sacred and civic spaces.
The theme for the Ramadan Festival 2025 is Connection and for the second edition of the biennial architecture project, Hussain and Faum Architecture founder Fatima Mejbil wanted to create a pavilion that would invite the public to engage with the space and with each other.
“We loved the idea that the arch is a timeless symbol of connection, bridging spaces and people,” Bradford-based Mejbil explained. “The design needed to invite people to come closer, explore and experience the space in a way that feels intimate yet expansive.”
The designers had originally considered building a courtyard of arches in Centenary Square but for budgetary reasons, they switched to the idea of a passageway that users can walk through.
The repetitive arched forms are arranged to evoke the impression of infinity that Hussain said she experienced when visiting the Great Mosque in Córdoba, Spain, with its rows of two-tiered arches.
The profiles of the pavilion’s lower arches are based on the proportions of the Ottoman arches in the courtyard of the Holy Mosque in Mecca, while the higher arches reference the more pointed forms used in the 1870s by Bradford City Hall’s architect Henry Francis Lockwood.
“The combination of these elements creates a form that embodies the idea of connection, between architectural styles, cultural traditions and the people of Bradford,” Mejbil added.
Colour and lighting are key to the project and are used to emphasise the transition between day and night that marks the ending of the fast during Ramadan.
The choice of intense pink and teal reflects the notion of Ramadan as a time of celebration that is associated with bright colours. These hues also evoke the shifting tones of the sky at sunrise and sunset.
“I really wanted the colours to be vibrant and stand out at what can be a dull and rainy time of year,” said Hussain.
Lighting integrated into the structure allows it to transform at different times of the day. As darkness falls, the arches glow to signal the end of the fast and create a beacon that catches the eye of passers-by.
“During the day the vibrant pink and teal colours of the Pavilion will be unmissable,” Hussain added, “while at sunset when the lights get turned on it will become a whole new thing and look completely different.”
This year, Ramadan begins on Friday 28 February and will conclude on Sunday 30 March. The month is observed by Muslims worldwide as a period of fasting, prayer, reflection and community.
The Ramadan Pavilion project is a biennial purpose-built architectural structure and showpiece of creative expression inspired by the sacred month of Ramadan.
The inaugural pavilion designed by architect Shahed Saleem was exhibited in 2023 at the V&A museum in London to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the Ramadan Tent Project. It featured colourful elements based on traditional mosque architecture.
The photography is by David Lindsay.
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