Mosque Morphological Analysis: The Impact of Indoor Spatial–Volumetric Visibility on Worshipers’ Visual Comfort

Abstract

One of the essential needs of humans that is influenced by architectural geometry is visibility in indoor areas. Prayer hall geometry dominates the mosque typology and morphology. The spatial–volumetric shapes of interior prayer halls affect worshipers’ visual comfort and spirituality. In this study, a new integrative framework is developed to quantitatively describe various mosque typo-morphologies affecting the visual comfort of worshipers, including spaciousness and consciousness, to obtain prayer hall typo-morphological patterns that may provide higher levels of visual comfort. Spatial and volumetric metrics from various prayer hall vantage points are used in this study. A two-dimensional isovist (VGA) map in depthmapX.10 collects spatial metrics, while the grasshopper script in Rhinoceros-7 collects 3D isovist volumetric metrics. The findings confirm the feasibility of creating a prominent area in barrier-free mosque layout designs centered on a central domed roof form.

Using the golden ratio in detecting the aesthetics of Mosque facades: The case of contemporary Mosques in Erbil city

“…The mosque acts as a landmark or becomes a point of reference for Muslim people [25]. Most mosques in Muslim countries have common architectural elements as a sign of a place of prayer [26,27] Geometry constitutes an essential and fundamental element in art and architectural engineering. Within the authorized framework of geometry, all aspects of a structure, including its components and mass, can be established, and given identity [28,29] The analysis of the mosque geometrically was first conducted at the Great Mosque of Kairouan in Tunisia, where it was discovered that the principle of the Golden Section could potentially be employed as a reconstruction guide for a mosque dating back to around 670 AD [30,31,32].…”