The master plan of the Sharifah Rokiah Complex was first developed by RDA Harris Architects based on an axial plan, radiating from a dedicated center or core. The University master plan is designed to place or locate several important buildings, namely the Grand Mosque, Convocation Hall, Library and various Administration Buildings at its center or core. At the very center of the core there will be a central square or plaza and from here pedestrian pathways radiates to the various university buildings located around the core. There are 6 main buildings i.e. School of Applied Science, School of IT, Lecture Theatres, School of Business Studies and the School of Core Subjects. These building are placed around and facing the circular shape core. Other buildings such as Male and Female Hostels, Dining Halls, Student Union and The Albukhary Foundation building are located in an area behind the university buildings.

6 concept architects were initially appointed to plan and design the various façades design, interpreting the various Islamic Architectural styles found throughout the world. The appointed architects, apart from ATSA Architects were; KAZ Akitek, Razin Architects, ARRA Architects, Zailani Architect and Muzanee Architect. We were subsequently appointed by the client to further developed and coordinate these design concepts of the various universities buildings into one integrated seamless campus development.

Design Approach
The facade of the building is an interpretation of the ‘Great Mosque of Damascus in Syria’. The original mosque built in the 7th century was richly decorated with plant motifs in mosaic tiles, classical roof pediment supported by Corinthian columns with Arched colonnades; an architectural language borrowed from the Roman Architecture. These architecture elements were then adopted and used in the design of the Great Mosque. In our design for the School of Information Technology, we used and adopted some of the facade treatments from the Great Mosque of Damascus on its front elevation to reflect the early Assyrian Islamic Architecture.

Design Approach
The architectural design of this building is an interpretation of Persian Islamic Architecture. We based our design of this building from the Isfahan Royal Mosque, built in the 17th century. The main feature of the Persian Islamic Architecture is its celebrated entrance gateway and decorated with blue and yellow mosaics or “Iwans”. The centrally located entrance opens into a central courtyard which connects the east and west wing of the building.

Design Approach
The architectural design for the School of Applied Science follows the facade treatment of Moorish Architecture, found mainly in Spain and Morocco. For this particular building design, we refer and modified the architecture treatment of the Alhambra Royal Palace in Spain. The Royal Palace was built in the 13th century and features many ornate arched colonnades surrounding its many internal courtyards. These unique features were adopted in the design of this building.

The School of Pharmaceutical, Food Technology and Architectural study will be housed within this building. The administration office will be at level 4 with its classroom, laboratories, studios and workshops occupying the lower floors.

Design Approach
The facade treatment for school of core subjects was inspired by the Timurid Royal Square in Registan, Samarqand which was built in the 15th century. The main feature of the building is its symmetrical facade decorated with “Iwans”. The main architectural treatment surrounding its façade is the double height arched corridor, decorated with geometrical patterned mosaics and ceramics tiles on natural clay brick surface. The school of core subjects will offer degree programes in Languages, Mathematics and Geography. Within the 2-storey building there will be various classrooms and offices for lecturers.

Design Approach
The building is intended for the use of the Yayasan Albukhary Foundation. It is designed as a 2-storey building and was inspired by the distinctive Mughal Palace Architectural design found mainly in the northern Indian states built during the Mughal Empire period. The use of marble inlays were commonly used as decorative features in the design of important buildings during this period. This building is mainly to cater for the university management offices with several meeting rooms, a grand lobby and a grand landscape internal courtyard.

Design Approach
The Lecture Theatre building is purposely located prominently within the overall master plan of the university. The architecture facade design for this building was inspired by the Suleimaniye Mosque in Turkey, built during Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. This Lecture Theatre features many multiple roof layers and domes sizes. A large decorative main dome similar in design to the Suleimaniye Mosque dome, is located at its center. The Lecture Theatre will house 6 lecture halls with a capacity of 250 students for each hall. It will also be equipped with the state-of-the-art audio visual equipment which can be connected to all 6 halls and the Convocation Hall.

Design Approach
The students studying in this university will be provided with accommodation within the campus. The students will be living in separate male and female hostel blocks complete with common computer rooms, guest lounge, laundry area and an internal landscape courtyard. Overall, the campus will have 14, 4-storeys hostel blocks divided into 10 male blocks and 4 female blocks. The hostel blocks were designed with internal landscape courtyards; a common features in Islamic Architecture. The large entrance gateways into the apartment blocks were inspired by the beautiful ornate arch gateways from the Mughal Architectural era.

Design Approach
Within the university campus, 2 dining halls, one female and one male, a multipurpose hall and a student centre will be built to provide amenities and facilities for the students. The design of these ancillaries buildings were inspired by the Timurid Royal Square in Registan, Samarqand. In line with the designs philosophy of the Timurid era, these 2-storey buildings were designed with oversized gateways identifying its entrances which is connected to the arched corridors along the buildings facade.