The philosophy of difference in the Islamic architecture and its impact on the interior space

Abstract

The Muslim designer has a special philosophy that he followed in designing inner spaces, which stems from the teachings of his religion. His philosophy is based on the content and essence, and on the reflecting on beyond the things surrounding him to elevate his human nature. He observed the greatness of the Creator that is revealed in the course of night and day, in the running rivers, in the blowing winds, in the seasons of the year, in the brightness of the sun and the moon, in the diversity of shadows, in the stability of mountains and green spaces, in the details of the natural environment. Changing and difference are symboles of the continuation of life and Steadiness is a temporary situation that appears in some details of the natural environment. Therefore, the adoption of the Muslim designer on transferring the harmony between steadiness with its core and the difference in the nature into the internal spaces allows him more contact with the Creator and provides him with the opportunity to reflect on the Creator's greatness when He honors the human being to reach his physical and psychological comfort. The human being is always in a need of interdependence and harmony with the environment and its nature in the interior spaces, and with the continuous increase of the human race, which forced the human to reside in closed and isolated spaces away from the natural environment and what is called living in (boxes with holes), which caused the loose of the link between him and the environment until they became spaces with a static design that does not fit with the dynamic nature of a rapidly changing humanistic nature. The problem of research lies in the rigidity of the interior designs of the local environment due to paying the attention towards the blocks rather than suggesting solutions that take into account the philosophy of difference (which was used by the Muslim designer in the internal space), which helps to connect the inner space with cosmic nature to make the human feel physically and psychologically comfort in dealing with the internal designs. Is it possible to deepen the philosophy of difference in the works of the contemporary internal design, which appeared in the works of the Muslim designer? And how could the Muslim designer bring nature with its characteristics into the internal spaces? To what extent is the philosophy of difference accomplished in the Islamic internal spaces and its relation to the human psychological and physical comfort? What are the mechanisms of difference in the internal spaces? The research aims to monitor and analyze the manifestations of change and steadiness in the Islamic internal space to achieve the psychological and physical comfort of the contemporary human. This research emphasizes the originality of the Islamic architecture as it includes a core that elevates humanity. This has been achieved through a descriptive analytical approach in studying the harmony manifestations of change , steadiness and difference in the Islamic internal space.

Keywords

• philosophy of difference; internal space; islamic interior design; mental and physical comfort