One of the five sacred duties (Five Pillars) for an “able-bodied” Muslim who can afford the trip is to perform the ritual pilgrimage known as the Hajj at least once in a lifetime.

Combine the fact that there are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide and the availability of relatively inexpensive easy transportation and you have a big 21st century problem – about 1.7 million pilgrims converge on Mecca every year.

Sadly, the infrastructure has been overburdened for many years and has resulted in deaths due to trampling and overcrowding. Fast Company magazine recently featured a short article revealing the existence of a YouTube video that is a fly-through of the master plan to modify Mecca. It caught our eye because it is an amazing scheme, a melding of ancient and contemporary ideas along with a state of the art digital presentation.

The video clearly demonstrates an elegant employment of the radial “parti” and a 21st century feel, echoing the shapes of Utzon’s Sidney Opera House, Gehry’s Disney Concert Hall and the structural rationalism of Nervi and Calatrava, while acting like an ancient amphitheater affording pilgrims view and access to the sacred Kaaba, which is the focal center of the plan.

In keeping with the Islamic love of mathematics, as reflected in the magnificent pattern language of Islamic architecture, this redo promises to be one of world’s wonders. We will keep you posted as we learn more.