Design Characteristics of the Interior Elements of a Prayer Hall in Congregational Mosques

Abstract

The prayer hall was chosen as the target of this study as it is the main interior space within the building of a mosque where religious rites are held. The problem of the research is represented in the lack of a database that summarizes the design characteristics of the interior elements of the prayer hall, and their potential values in a way that ensures reaching quantitative and qualitative scales that allow conducting comparative studies between different styles of congregational mosques. The research aims to set a database for the characteristics of the interior elements of the prayer hall by building a theoretical framework supported by the previous studies, and by using the descriptive analytical method to set the essential vocabularies of the elements of the interior space with their possible values, which will enable future studies to develop these elements, in both quantitative and qualitative ways. A detailed table has also been completed to help researchers conducting more studies on how to develop the characteristics of the interior design in mosques, and the design of the interior elements, and to help conducting analytical comparison between the different types and models of mosques for ancient and contemporary times.