Towards identifying mosque architectural characteristics aligned with expert preferences: application on selected mosques in Assuit City, Egypt

Abstract

Mosques, being public spaces, should be designed with the needs and preferences of the wider community in mind in order to facilitate spiritual practice and convenience. Through face-to-face interviews, mosque users have expressed a desire for a range of specific characteristics in their places of worship, further highlighting the importance of incorporating user input into the design process. The study aims to examine the design features of various mosques and assess their compliance with user preferences, with the broad goal of ensuring that mosques are capable of addressing their functional role. A field survey of six mosques was carried out. The findings show that mosque designers have not fully considered these preferences, resulting in a relative discrepancy between user preferences and actual mosque designs, which introduces concerns about the effectiveness and functionality of mosque spaces. Accordingly, the study recommends active community engagement in the design process from the early stages and emphasizes the need for retrofitting current mosques to address design deficiencies. In this context, the findings are useful for identifying areas for improvement for current and future mosques. They can also be utilized as a practical guideline for architects, designers, and other stakeholders involved in the mosque building process.