Transforming Spaces and Minds: Reviving the Value of Privacy in Islamic Architecture through Innovative Use of Spatial Elements

and compositions
( Women's Islamic cultural center )
So my concern for this topic arouse by the factor of depletion of privacy in modern urban fabric which was a very valuable factor that
played in Islamic architecture in its History. It also had to do with rising misconception of role of women in Islam and Islam in whole. I
wanted to explore the scope of integration of community with experiential spaces which caters the Idea and practices of the
community by testing out configurations of spatial compositions and elements

Islam is very firm in calling for privacy protection. All human activities at certain times and under certain conditions contain certain
aspects which cannot be freely exposed to the public eye. There is also privacy in human emotions and the conditions of the soul.
People certainly do not like themselves and things related to them to be seen by others unless they are clean, beautified and orderly
and “prepared” for the public interest. Likewise in my center the will hierarchical arrangement of activities with relevance to the need of
privacy

Early Islamic architecture (7th-10th centuries): In the early Islamic period,

privacy was achieved through the use of screens and partitions, such as
mashrabiya or wooden latticework screens that allowed light and air to
enter while maintaining privacy. Islamic houses were often organized
around a central courtyard, with private living quarters located on the upper
floors.
The musallah is a space designated for the daily prayers, meditation, discussions
and other religious activities both for the individual and the collective. It can be a
space that closes to itself when a person is meditating or expands to include the
space of the courtyard for larger prayers.
Hospitality is strongly encouraged in Islam. A separate
reception area distinct from the private family living is
traditional. It has a public component for men and women to
freely intermingle and a private component for the sole use of
women. As such they are connected for women to travel freely
from one to the other but separate to prevent male intrusion.
Traditionally, the mashrabiya is a fixed window screen that allows light but prevents public view. This element is
transformed and offers new spatial possibilities through movement. Instead of always enclosing space, this
new element offers the possibility of enclosing an open space as needed.
This screen system also allows for a new efficiency of space. Instead of providing a space for every
situation, spaces transform themselves to adapt to different social situations. For example, instead
of having two separate reception rooms for general reception and for women, there is only one
larger reception room. If there is a need for segregation, this space can transform into two smaller
spaces through the use of the screen system.
My present intent is to develop on the concept
and dive more into the design strategies for my
thesis topic from this initial study