OPENING THE BLACK BOX OF MOSQUE DESIGN An ANT research into mosque design networks in the Netherlands

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2024-02-14
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en
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This is an ANT research into Dutch mosque architecture. Revealing the networks around the design of Dutch mosques shows the social place mosque architecture takes in the current society. The ANT approach, in combination with the topic, demanded qualitative research methods. Communities, representatives, and architects are interviewed to reach the network's core. Central to these interviews are materialities of design like sketches, photos, and other design traces. Atlas.ti reveals the confrontation and relations that make up the network. The network shows a threefold translation of goals from the community, the architect, and a responsible governmental party. In creating a mosque, the shared goal stumbles across obstacles originating from different actants with alternating motives. Communities, on the other hand, prioritize practicality. The architect is thinking more aesthetically and conceptually. Mosque materialities show that the minaret, dome, and musalla have a more traditional existence, influenced mainly by history and semiotics. Skin and courtyard are most dependent on the urban context. Overall, the first steps of mosque design in the Netherlands show a mangled openness towards the Islamic entry into Dutch architecture and the mosques with mosque exteriors varying between looking like a religiously elevated mosque and a functional community building.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen