Comparative Study of Architecture of Contemporary Tabriz Mosques, Based on Design Criteria Derived from Religious Concepts

Throughout history, mosques have always provided different aspects of body, function and meaning. These three parameters are put together as layers that the lack of each can undermine the performance of contemporary mosques compared to the performance of ancient templates. In this regard, this study will examine and compare contemporary examples of architectural design patterns in line with the "conceptual model of research" based on "criteria influencing architectural design patterns through religious concepts" in mosques.

In order to extract the architectural components derived from religious concepts in all three dimensions, library and documentary studies were used to collect data through descriptive-analytical research method. And in the second step, after developing the conceptual model of the research, it payed to the field evaluation (in 1397) and scoring of the architectural components in the sample community (contemporary selected mosques in Tabriz) which were selected by purposeful sampling by experts in the field.

Architectural design components of mosque in line with religious concepts can be divided into 3 functional components (special entrance, neighborhood, location and design of different spaces), semantic components (readability, sense of place and hierarchy) and physical components (orientation, attention to light, and proper design of the mihrab, dome, minaret, and courtyard).

By assessing the effectiveness of contemporary Tabriz mosques in each of the three dimensions, it can be concluded that the sub-component of "different spaces" in functional dimension, "sense of place" in semantic dimension, and "light" in physical aspect have been most emphasized. Also, the results show that the architecture of the contemporary mosques in Tabriz was more in line with the semantic dimension of the patterns than the other two dimensions. Also, Imam Reza Mosque (AS) has the most conformity with ancient patterns from the point of view of architectural design patterns based on religious concepts.