Emergent desing : rethinking contemporary mosque architecture in light of digital technology

Abstract

In the digital age many notions which we take for granted, such as distance, time and space have changed dramatically. This change in perception introduces new metaphors and understandings which require a new mosque architecture to evolve that corresponds to the 'spirit of the time.' The virtual space creates opportunities for new kinds of interaction and communication. Now the 'village well' is the computer interface which connects us with the rest of the world. How can these emerging notions enrich and shape mosque architecture? How would it affect and/or change existing metaphors? How can new mosque architecture transform existing practices and rituals without falling astray to theological teachings? What kind of social, cultural and religious implications would it bear? The thesis is divided in three main parts; first it questions the holistic mosque paradi~ i'~nd explains the accumulation of religious architectural elements over centuries, second it investigates the Kocatepe Mosque experience in Turkey in more detail, which shed light onto the evolutionary process of the praying space and finally proposes a new mosque paradigm which converges virtual and physical spaces.