How Interior Design Shapes Prayer and Public Life inside Bandung’s Landmark Al-Jabbar Grand Mosque

Tim Editor Rabu, Oktober 07, 2026

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FORMOSA NEWS

In September 2026, researchers Anggi Dwi Astuti, I Wayan Mudra, I Made Pande Artadi, and Nyoman Dewi Pebriyani from Universitas Mercu Buana published a detailed architectural study evaluating how the interior design of the Al-Jabbar Grand Mosque in Bandung, West Java, intuitively influences user behavior. Published in Jurnal Multidisplin Madani (MUDIMA), the study investigates how monumental places of worship act as both sacred spaces for prayer and public hubs for tourism and social gathering. By assessing the spatial configuration, lighting, scale, and materials of the interior, the researchers identified key design mechanisms that guide worshippers and visitors without the need for spoken or written directions.

Navigating Sacred and Public Demands in Modern Mosques

Monumental mosques across Indonesia increasingly function as double-purpose institutions. While their primary role is providing a sacred space for Islamic rituals, they simultaneously serve as urban landmarks, educational complexes, and religious tourism destinations. This dual identity often creates spatial overlap between individuals seeking quiet spiritual devotion and tourists capturing photos or exploring architectural features.

To evaluate this dynamic, the research team applied "affordance theory"—a concept developed by psychologist James J. Gibson suggesting that physical environments inherently suggest or "invite" specific human actions. The study categorized interior spatial cues into three distinct dimensions:

  • Sacred Affordance: Spatial features like high domes, directed natural light, and the qibla alignment that cultivate spiritual focus, tranquility, and devotion.
  • Functional Affordance: Physical elements such as floor elevation changes, tactile carpet patterns, and accessible ramps that facilitate movement, order, and hygiene.
  • Social Affordance: Open plazas, transition hallways, and wide corridors that encourage community gatherings, discussions, and visual documentation.

Research Methodology

The research team employed an interpretive qualitative single-case study design focused on the main prayer spaces, transition corridors, wudu areas, and public zones of the Al-Jabbar Grand Mosque.

  • Behavioral Mapping: Field observations were conducted across 6 to 8 sessions lasting 30 to 60 minutes each, capturing user behaviors during both active prayer times and non-prayer hours.
  • User Interviews: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 34 purposively selected individuals across three user categories: 10 active local worshippers, 18 tourists/visitors, and 6 mosque management staff members.
  • Data Analysis: Observational floor plans, visual documentation, field notes, and interview transcripts were systematically coded and cross-triangulated to map physical features against user perceptions and movement patterns.

Key Findings and "Affordance Conflicts"

The empirical data revealed that specific physical elements inside the Al-Jabbar Grand Mosque directly prompt intuitive user behaviors without explicit signage. However, the same visual landmarks that inspire religious reverence frequently attract non-ritual tourism, leading to spatial friction.

  • Intuitive Prayer Alignment: The main prayer hall's wide-span, pillarless construction gives worshippers an unobstructed view of the golden triangle-shaped mihrab. Striped carpet patterns (saf) provide explicit geometric cues that lead congregants to line up automatically for prayer without verbal instructions.
  • Tactile Boundaries and Inclusive Access: Floor height differences (5 to 15 cm) and changes in flooring material (from rough outdoor tiles to polished marble or carpet) signal clean, sacred boundaries where footwear must be removed. Additionally, sloped ramps alongside main staircases provide clear accessibility cues for wheelchair users and elderly visitors.
  • Natural Lighting and Spiritual Focus: Geometric glass openings in the dome allow dynamic sunlight to create a high-contrast visual gradient toward the mihrab and the central "Allah" ceiling calligraphy, directing visual attention upward and forward.
  • Identification of Affordance Conflicts: The study revealed that monumental elements—such as the central dome crown and the golden mihrab—trigger competing behaviors. During non-prayer times and weekend tourist surges, visitors frequently cross prayer lines (saf) or crowd the mihrab hallway for group photography, disrupting the quiet environment required by active worshippers.

Real-World Impact and Architectural Design Guidelines

To resolve spatial conflicts in dual-purpose religious monuments, the authors formulated an evaluative design framework that helps architects, urban planners, and facility managers balance sacred, functional, and social needs:

  • Temporal and Spatial Zoning: Core worship zones must prioritize sacred affordances, restricting photography to designated visiting windows outside of primary prayer hours.
  • Physical and Visual Buffers: Placing subtle, non-intrusive floor elevation changes, portable low guardrails, or transparent vitrine panels around the mihrab creates physical boundaries that prevent photo-taking inside primary prayer spaces while preserving open visual lines.
  • Acoustic and Vertical Separation: Cultural museums, exhibition halls, and tourist walkways should remain vertically separated from main prayer halls and equipped with acoustic insulation or raised balustrades to prevent noise propagation into sacred areas.
  • Circulation Fast Lanes: Transition zones should feature distinct floor materials or wide pathways to separate fast-moving worshippers entering for prayer from slower tourist crowds.

Academic Insight

Highlighting the practical value of spatial affordance in modern public architecture, lead researcher Anggi Dwi Astuti and the team from Universitas Mercu Buana noted:

"The interior affordances of a mosque are formed through three interrelated dimensions: sacred, functional, and social affordances. When space configuration offers competing possibilities for ritual and non-ritual activities at the same point in space and time, an affordance conflict occurs. The success of contemporary mosque interior design lies in using functional affordances—such as spatial zoning, material transitions, and visual boundaries—to preserve spiritual solemnity while safely accommodating public community life."

Primary Researcher Profile

  • Full Name: Anggi Dwi Astuti, M.Ds.
  • Academic Credentials: Master of Design (M.Ds.)
  • University Affiliation: Universitas Mercu Buana, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • Field of Expertise: Interior Design, Environmental Psychology, Spatial Affordance, and Contemporary Islamic Architecture

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