Spatial and social interaction in medieval Algerian mosques: a morphological analysis using space syntax

Abstract

Medieval mosques in Algeria represent an important architectural heritage that deserves to be identified, studied and preserved. Considering the period spanning the 7th to 15th centuries, this study investigated medieval mosques in Algeria, spatially and socially, to identify the architectural genotype and to establish whether such mosques present the same topological model that governs their spatial properties. This study adopted a new approach to spatial analysis of mosques that could be applied to improve understanding of other religious buildings. Space syntax as an architectural analysis tool can be used as a qualitative method for drawing justified graphs and comparing them visually and quantitatively, calculating syntactic measures and integrating visibility graph analysis to identify spatial types, reveal architectural genotypes and explain social logic. The findings demonstrate how space syntax with topological analysis and syntactic measures could be used to provide new understanding for architects, students and all those interested in heritage, architecture and design, by uncovering hidden structures and revealing the social logic embodied in the spatial configurations of mosques.