Architectural Approaches of the Mosque : A Comparative Study Through Prominent Arab Architects 

Studying new mosques built within the last four to five decades had proved difficult given the mlack of good documentation available. However sufficient information is available to identify mosques within a broad classification of architectural approaches. As a building without prescribed formalistic vocabularies for the place of worship, endless possibilities of stylistic variations are only bound by the architect's approach and client/community responses. This thesis is thus an investigation on the mosque typology given its four predefined categorizes. Based on quantitative research, the analysis will draw upon developing a framework to establish a comparative tool, which is its core contribution. The parameters for the tool are derived through a three-tier perspective, which include, prominent Arab architects of the twentieth-Century, Hassan Fathy, Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil, Mohamed Makiya and Jafar Tukan; evaluating award bodies, Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKA) and Abdullatif Al Fozan Award for Mosque Architecture and the user-demographic that attain to the current Muslim community. Cross-referencing to each of the selected practitioners, the tool is applied to four mosque case studies which include: New Gourna mosque, Yateem mosque, Kuwait Grand Mosque and Aysha Bakkar mosque, to validate their current practical level. The case studies address the key topics of the framework that pertain to the spiritual, physical, socio-cultural and innovative attributes. The applied tool is supported through qualitative research that includes interviews and graphic diagrams to draw upon a coherent interpretation of the results obtained. To provide guidance for the future mosque designs, the outcome is a proposed set of best practices to initiate a contribution towards a given design brief for a mosque commission. It is based upon qualities of design principles specific to each of the four architectural approaches.