With the opening of the Abrahamic Family House on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island earlier this year, David Adjaye joined the ever-growing list of international star architects with work in the United Arab Emirates. But Adjaye’s project is quite unlike the museums and towers for which Dubai and Abu Dhabi are known: it consists of a synagogue, a church, and a mosque, each a concrete cube of identical size, set atop a sweeping plaza in an intended show of religious harmony. The name of the complex refers to the three faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—and also seemingly nods to the UAE’s inauguration of diplomatic relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords of 2020.

RECORD contributing editor Izzy Kornblatt sat down with Adjaye to discuss the complexities of designing religious spaces in the UAE, the importance of the Abrahamic Family House for international diplomacy, and Adjaye’s planned Africa Institute in the emirate of Sharjah.