Journal of Researches in Islamic Architecture

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Maleki M, Bayzidi Q, Yoonessi A, Charehjoo F. Adaptive Study of Spirituality in the Interior of Past and Contemporary Mosques with a Neuroscience Approach and EEG-VR Method. JRIA 2021; 9 (3) :115-130
URL: http://jria.iust.ac.ir/article-1-1422-en.html

For centuries, architects have acknowledged the effects of the buildings in which we live, learn, work, and worship. How we feel, how we behave in these spaces, what energizing interactions within our bodies occur in these spaces, and our inspirations from these spaces, are very important today for architects and neuroscientists. The application of neuroscience, psychology, and architecture acquires a new trend called neuroarchitecture. This knowledge focuses on the design of architectural structures, humans, and seeks to design spaces with maximum efficiency and positive effects on space users. In this research, with the approach of neuroscience and with a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods (correlation and laboratory) to the category of how to use architectural elements (such as light, geometry, color, materials, etc.) to evaluate the sense of spirituality in mosques (Dome) is addressed. The important point in this research is the use of neuroscience and laboratory tools in examining the emotions of users in space. The effect of the factors affecting the "feeling of spirituality" in the architectural space due to the changes in human brain signals is a matter between interdisciplinary and completely scientific and laboratory. The main purpose of neuroscience is to extract invisible information from the human brain. Therefore, no questions or questionnaires or interviews are taken from individuals, but information is extracted directly and without any intermediaries.
At the beginning of the research by the descriptive method refers to the types of brain signals and brain functions and previous research will be done in the background. in the first phase, by selecting a mosque related to the past (Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque of Isfahan) and a contemporary mosque (Al-Jawad Mosque of Tehran), through expert questionnaire and ANP method and SuperDecision software to determine the order of effective architectural components The perception of spirituality in the interior of these two mosques has been discussed. Then, in the second phase, in order to diagnose the emotions of people in selected mosques, laboratory work was performed by EEG-VR method, which means simultaneous use of electroencephalography and virtual reality devices. The subjects included 24 people (12 men and 12 women). Then, the data obtained from the experiment in MATLAB software were analyzed and then, for interpretation of information and by inferential statistics, multiple regression analysis was performed to test the hypothesis. In the third phase, the results of the first and second phases are merged and discussed. At the end of the study, it was concluded that there is a significant relationship between how to use architectural elements (light, color, materials, geometry, etc.) and promote a sense of spirituality in the interior of mosques and the mosque belongs to the past (Sheikh Lotfollah ) Has a greater sense of spirituality among the subjects than the contemporary mosque (Al-Jawad). It was also found that the use of emerging neuroscience knowledge in architectural research and the use of medical tools such as electroencephalography as well as new virtual reality technology, can be very effective in discovering human emotions and feelings.