The emotional factors in space: The impact of the natural lighting on mosque architecture

A person can exist in their environment as much as they are able to perceive it, interpreting stimuli in the environment through their senses and making sense of them with subjective consciousness. A seen drawing, a heard melody, a felt touch gain meaning through human perception, and in this way, external influences cause a reaction or emotion in the individual. An individual, who interacts with the space they are in, perceives a large part of their environment through visual perception. This situation shows that architectural spaces, where we interact the most throughout the day, affect us on semantic, psychological, and perceptual levels. However, today, architecture is evaluated merely as a science of building based on ergonomic adequacy, and insufficient attention is paid to the effects of architectural space on human behavior during the design process. In this research process, the effects of architectural space elements on the perception of architectural spaces are examined, and how these elements are skillfully used to create the desired emotional responses in the individual, according to the building's purpose and function, is investigated. The perceptual experience created in the individual by architectural space elements such as sound, color, smell, texture, light, etc., is focused on, with a particular emphasis on the psychological effects created by natural lighting in the space in the later stages of the study. The psychological uses of natural lighting are examined through lighting typologies, and the perceptual effects that these typologies may create are systematized. Given that one of the most important architectural spaces where natural lighting and light games aim to affect the individual through symbolic and semantic aspects is religious spaces, the research focuses on the effects of natural lighting in religious spaces on user psychology. As a result of the study, a mosque example with five different lighting typologies is examined, and it is explained how the interaction of the individual with religious spaces is consciously shaped by the element of natural lighting, and how the emotions experienced with the light element can be directed by the space. The study aims to strengthen the understanding that the process of creating emotions through spatial design is not only about physical characteristics but also about emotional and psychological effects, and to provide a comprehensive approach to understanding the effects of architecture on individual perception. The goal is to contribute to the understanding of the emotional and symbolic depth of architectural spaces.