International Conference on Mosque Architecture, Volume X, Issue X, November 2019 1 ISSN XXX-XXXX The Soul of Mosques Ayman M Ismail * , Husam Bakr Khalil ** , Aya Mostafa *** * Professor of Urban Planning Nile University ** Professor of Architecture British University of Egypt *** Researcher, MUST - Egypt Abstract- This paper addresses the syntactical analysis of places of worship that have long been known to attract worshipers leaving a spiritual sense of calmness and serenity. The analysis uses users’ experience surveys and space syntax software to correlate the perceived sense of serenity of several well-known historical mosques of Cairo to the mosque’s syntactical features. It poses the question “if serenity is a functional objective, can it also be a design directive?” The paper reaches that depending on plan type, a number of significant leads may be used in the design of mosques to achieve serenity. Keywords- Serenity, Places of Worship, Space Syntax, Islamic Architecture I. INTRODUCTION Serenity has many definitions according to what discipline it is used in. Generally, it is defined as the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled. It is defined by Merriam Webster as “utter calm and unruffled repose or quietude”. In this study we use it in an architectural context related to places of worship. Therefore, we define serenity as “a spiritual experience of inner peace, calmness that is induced by the physical presence within the spaces of a place of worship.” Serenity is essential in the design of places of worship, as it is the whole purpose of prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) became divested of all feelings of delight in complete bewilderment, he used to say, “O Bilal, comfort us by the call to prayer.” Sufi Sheikhs have discussed this matter at length. Some hold that prayer is a means of obtaining presence with Allah, and some regard it as means of being absent from self. The question is, can serenity be deliberate by design? Or is it spontaneous with little influence from the designer. The utility of this question is to learn – if it is deliberate - what design features may be introduced to increase serenity. Figure 1 - Serenity Elements (after Roberts, and Aspy 1993) II. SERENITY IN ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH Shatha Malhisn (2015) studied the spatial and perceptual analyses of the madrassas and mausoleums of 14 Mamluk examples (from 1260–1517A.D.). The researcher studied various spatial descriptor tools of space syntax to analyze the and capture the differences in the experience. Analyses of the configurational characteristics, axial attributes, visibility structures, and isovists highlight how the spatial and formal properties of the layouts were used to express certain representational relationships. The outcome of literature review on serenity reveals that one measurement of scale is the one developed by Kay Roberts and Cheryl Aspy (1993). The Serenity Scale used there was a 40-item self-report, that evaluates clients' serenity status relying on critical theoretical attributes, identified by serenity experts (Figure 1). The approach was adapted to mosques using three basic categories 1- Sensory Measurement of Architectural Serenity; 2- Architectural Serenity; and 3- Spatial Organization (Figure 2). Figure 2 – Survey Structure (authors) III SPACE SYNTAX AND THE ANALYSIS OF SPACES Space syntax refers to a group of theories and tools that investigate the relationship between space and society and the ways by which the resulting pattern of space affects its users (Hillier, 1996). In this context, space syntax assists in interpreting the spatial system of how spaces are related to one another in a set of complex spaces represented by a spatial hierarchy. Space syntax methods quantify the spatial patterns with the use of a set of measures that allow them to be compared mathematically and perceptually. This approach has been used in the analysis of hundreds of plans and urban areas. The main idea behind space syntax spatial elements is “that people experience their environment in certain geometries: they move in lines [axial lines], interact in convex spaces [convex spaces], and sees changeable panoptical views when moving around [isovists]” (Akkelies, 2011). Serenity Inner Haven Acceptance Belonging Trust Perspective Contentment Present Centered Benevolence Cognitive Restructuring Serenity Calmness, inner haven Sensory Assessment General feeling Architectural Serenity Relation to Design Sensory Elements Light, colors, materials Sense of Place Story, Usability, Surrounding, etc Spatial Organization Scale, Sequence, Height, etc