Commissioned by the United Arab Emirates in celebration of their 40th Anniversary, the creative team at DE-ZYN studios worked with Obscura Digital to illuminate the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the country’s most important architectural landmark. The experience used the latest in computer rendering and projection technologies — forty-four projectors emitting over 840,000 lumens created the largest contemporary architectural projection executed to date. The show was designed to honor the unifying spirit of Sheikh Zayed, his passion for the environment, and his vision to invite artists of all cultures around the world to design for this singular showcase of collaboration. It slowly transitioned through organic, environmental designs: details of date palm fronds, flowers of stone, and colorful organic vines scale the four minarets (170m/350ft high) in the corners of the courtyard, homage to the symbols of the UAE found throughout the Mosque. These organic forms shifted into scenes acknowledging the rich cultural heritage of the Emirates such as the Qibla Wall — mirrored after the central panel of the main prayer hall illuminating the 99 attributes of Allah in traditional Kufi calligraphy — and an interpretation of the Mosque’s Mihrab was depicted as rotating golden domes. The scenes progressed to entrance the viewers with optical illusions altering the architecture as glass, shadows, or mosaics shimmering under a blue sky. In all, the project represented the integration of interdisciplinary cultural research, technology innovation, and augmented architectural design which resonated with people from around the world and engaged them directly with this important moment celebrating and uplifting the UAE with is culture, faith, and people.