Comparative Analysis of Mosque Acoustics Quality in Tropical and Non-Tropical Climates: A Literature Review

Ernaning Setiyowati, Sri Nastiti Nugrahani Ekasiwi, FX Teddy Badai Samodra

Abstract


This study investigates the comparative acoustic performance of tropical and non-tropical mosques, focusing on key parameters including Reverberation Time (RT), Clarity (C₈₀), Definition (D₅₀), and Speech Transmission Index (STI). Data were collected from multiple case studies, including tropical and non-tropical mosques, to evaluate their suitability for speech-related religious activities. A meta-analysis was conducted using acoustic datasets compiled from 20 mosques in the existing literature. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) multiple linear regression models were constructed for each acoustic parameter to isolate the independent and combined predictive power of the structural variables. The results reveal that tropical mosques generally exhibit lower reverberation times and smaller deviations from recommended values, indicating more controlled acoustic environments. In contrast, non-tropical mosques tend to have higher RT values, often exceeding optimal limits due to large enclosed volumes and reflective materials. In terms of clarity (C₈₀) and definition (D₅₀), tropical mosques more frequently achieve values within or near recommended ranges, suggesting a better balance between early and late sound energy and improved speech intelligibility. Non-tropical mosques, however, exhibit greater variability, with several cases showing either excessive reverberation. The STI analysis further demonstrates that tropical mosques have the potential to achieve superior speech intelligibility. Non-tropical mosques generally fall within moderate levels of intelligibility. These differences are primarily influenced by architectural typology, spatial configuration, building volume, material characteristics, and the presence of electroacoustic systems. Tropical mosques, characterized by semi-open layouts and climate-responsive design strategies, inherently facilitate better sound dissipation and acoustic balance. This study concludes that while tropical mosque architecture tends to provide more favorable acoustic conditions, achieving optimal performance requires a holistic integration of architectural design, material selection, and acoustic treatment, regardless of climatic context.

Keywords


Architectural acoustic; Tropical mosque; Comparative study; Acoustics; Mosque design; Climatic architecture; Islamic architecture

Full Text:

PDF

References


[1] A. H. Abdullah and M. A. J. M. Razali, “The Assessment of Acoustical Performance of Mosques in Shah Alam,” Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Environment, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 299–318, 2023, doi: 10.24191/myse.v10i1.21265.

[2] A. A. Abdou, “Comparison of the Acoustical Performance of Mosque Geometry Using Computer Model Studies,” in Eighth International IBPSA Conference, Eindhoven, 2003, pp. 39–46.

[3] A. R. Othman, C. M. Harith, N. Ibrahim, and S. S. Ahmad, “The Importance of Acoustic Design in the Mosques towards the Worshipers’ Comfort,” Procedia Soc. Behav. Sci., vol. 234, pp. 45–54, Oct. 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.10.218.

[4] N. Ergin, “The Soundscape of Sixteenth-Century Istanbul Mosques: Architecture and Qur’an Recital,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, vol. 67, no. 2, pp. 204–221, Jun. 2008, doi: 10.1525/jsah.2008.67.2.204.

[5] R. U. Pratiwi, A. Sudarsono, Z. Muttaqin, and S. Supriyanto, “Optimizing the Acoustic Condition of a Pyramidal-Ceiling Mosque Based on Simulation,” Journal of Islamic Architecture, 2023, doi: 10.18860/jia.v7i4.19638.

[6] Z. Sü Gül and M. Çalışkan, “Impact of design decisions on acoustical comfort parameters: Case study of Doğramacızade Ali Paşa Mosque,” Applied Acoustics, vol. 74, no. 6, pp. 834–844, Jun. 2013, doi: 10.1016/j.apacoust.2012.12.006.

[7] W. A. Orfali, “Sound parameters in mosques,” in Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, the Acoustical Society of America through the American Institute of Physics, 2007, pp. 035001–035001. doi: 10.1121/1.2829306.

[8] M. Long, Architectural Acoustic. Oxford: Elsevier, 2014.

[9] H. Kuttruff, Room Acoustics. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2016.

[10] A. P. O. Carvalho, “Relations between rapid speech transmission index (RASTI) and other acoustical and architectural measures in churches,” Applied Acoustics, vol. 58, no. 1, pp. 33–49, Sep. 1999, doi: 10.1016/S0003-682X(98)00071-1.

[11] B. S. Budi, “A Study on the History and Development of the Javanese Mosque Part 3: Typology of the Plan and Structure of the Javanese Mosque and Its Distribution,” Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 229–236, Nov. 2006, doi: 10.3130/jaabe.5.229.

[12] N. A. Khalit, N. H. A. Majid, Z. A. Rahim, and N. M. Norwina, “Unveiling the secrets of passive design construction of Nusantara Masjid architecture through the roof design for region’s sustainability,” Ecology, Environment, and Conservation, vol. Suppl Issue, pp. S79–S84, Nov. 2017.

[13] A. Ahriz, A. Mesloub, K. Elkhayat, M. A. Alghaseb, M. H. Abdelhafez, and A. Ghosh, “Development of a Mosque Design for a Hot, Dry Climate Based on a Holistic Bioclimatic Vision,” Sustainability, vol. 13, no. 11, p. 6254, Jun. 2021, doi: 10.3390/su13116254.

[14] R. binti Othman and S. S. Ashour, “Climate-Responsive Vernacular Mosque Design; Comparative Analysis Between Hot-Humid and Hot-Arid Regions,” 2025, pp. 303–311. doi: 10.1007/978-981-97-8348-9_37.

[15] L. A. Ali and F. A. Mustafa, “Mosque Typo-Morphological Classification for Pattern Recognition Using Shape Grammar Theory and Graph-Based Techniques,” Buildings, vol. 13, no. 3, p. 741, Mar. 2023, doi: 10.3390/buildings13030741.

[16] F. N. Latifah, R. A. R. Q. Y. Putri, F. Syukur, W. H. Sutarno, B. Paramita, and T. Ramadhan, “An Analysis of Prayer Room Acoustics in the Pusdai Mosque in West Java,” Engineering Proceeding, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 1–9, 2023, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/IOCBD2023-15187.

[17] R. Ikhwanuddin, A. F. Sherly, E. P. Sari, and N. Drantantiyas, “Measurement-based Auralisation to Predict Room Acoustics Quality of a Large Mosque with a Pyramid-Shaped Ceiling in Bandar Lampung,” J. Phys. Conf. Ser., vol. 2673, pp. 1–11, 2023, doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/2673/1/012026.

[18] D. I. P. Ngagi, A. Kusno, and R. Mulyadi, “Providing Appropriate Acoustic Comforts in Mosques: The Case of Reverberation Time of the Prayer Area at Al-Markaz Al-Islami Mosque, Makassar, Indonesia,” Journal of the International Society for the Study of Vernacular Settlements, vol. 10, no. 11, pp. 345–358, 2023, doi: 10.61275/isvsej-2023-10-11-22.

[19] N. R. Syamsiyah, A. Dharoko, and S. S. Utami, “Sound preservation at the Grand Mosque of Yogyakarta in Indonesia: The acoustic performance of the traditional architecture,” in AIP Conference Proceeding, 2018, p. 040032. doi: 10.1063/1.5043002.

[20] N. A. Adnan et al., “Acoustic Quality Levels of Mosques in Batu Pahat,” IOP Conf. Ser. Earth Environ. Sci., vol. 140, 2018, doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/140/1/012009.

[21] D. H. Kassim, A. Putra, M. J. M. Nor, and M. J. M. Nor, “The acoustical characteristics of the Sayyidina Abu Bakar Mosque, UTeM,” journal of engineering science and technology, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 97–110, 2015.

[22] E. Setiyowati, S. N. N. Ekasiwi, and F. X. T. B. Samodra, “Acoustic Performance Comparison Between the Historic Traditional and Contemporary Forms of Tropical Mosques,” E3S Web of Conferences, vol. 674, p. 05008, Dec. 2025, doi: 10.1051/e3sconf/202567405008.

[23] M. H. Heruputra, W. Widyarko, and D. Susanto, “Uncovering the Influence of Mosque Openness on Speech Intelligibility: A Simulation Study,” Journal of Islamic Architecture, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 998–1011, Dec. 2025, doi: 10.18860/jia.v8i4.23828.

[24] N. Rachmasari P. and I. Subagio, “OPTIMASI KINERJA AKUSTIK MASJID AL-IRSYAD SATYA KOTA BARU PARAHYANGAN,” Riset Arsitektur (RISA), vol. 8, no. 01, pp. 52–67, Jan. 2024, doi: 10.26593/risa.v8i01.7537.52-67.

[25] M. N. Dimon, S. D. A. M. Adzim, H. Hassan, N. Azliza, and M. Z. Jusoh, “Good speech intelligibility through novel acoustics material of geometric perforated panel in mosques,” in Proceedings of the International Symposium on Room Acoustics, ISRA, Melbourne, 2010, pp. 1–6.

[26] F. Y. Sert and Ö. Y. Karaman, “Effects of plaster choice on conservation of the original acoustical character of historical mosques,” GRID - Architecture, Planning and Design Journal, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 309–340, 2023, doi: 10.37246/grid.1115794.

[27] M. L. Benferhat, S. D. Benzagouta, A. Bouttout, and F. Martellotta, “On the simulation of occupied acoustic conditions of Djedid mosque in Algiers,” Proceedings of the 10th Convention of the European Acoustics Association Forum Acusticum 2023, 2022, doi: 10.61782/fa.2023.0963.

[28] F. Y. Sert and Ö. Y. Karaman, “An Investigation on the Effects of Architectural Features on Acoustical Environment of Historical Mosques,” Acoustics, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 559–580, Aug. 2021, doi: 10.3390/acoustics3030036.

[29] D. A. A. Masih, N. K. Jalal, M. N. A. Mohammed, and S. A. Mustafa, “The Assessment of Acoustical Characteristics for Recent Mosque Buildings in Erbil City of Iraq,” ARO. The Scientific Journal of Koya University, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 51–66, 2021, doi: 10.14500/aro.10784.

[30] V. M. Aleshkin, A. Bouttout, A. O. Subbotkin, M. L. Benferhat, and M. Amara, “Acoustics of the Ketchaoua Mosque in Algeria,” Acoust. Phys., vol. 67, no. 3, pp. 302–311, May 2021, doi: 10.1134/S1063771021030015.

[31] K. Kitapci and G. Çelik Başok, “The Acoustic Characterization of Worship Ambiance and Speech Intelligibility in Wooden Hypostyle Structures: The Case of the Aslanhane Mosque,” Acoust. Aust., vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 425–440, Sep. 2021, doi: 10.1007/s40857-021-00238-1.

[32] D. Ç. Aydin, F. B. Kocyigit, and N. Dalkılıç, “Assessment of the Acoustic Performance of Historical Structures That Shed Light on Today’s Technologies: Fatih Pasha (Kurşunlu) Mosque - Diyarbakır,” DUJE, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 543–550, 2021, doi: 10.24012/dumf.949347.

[33] Z. S. Gül, “ACOUSTICAL FEATURES OF THE ÜÇ ŞEREFELİ MOSQUE IN EDIRNE (THE MOSQUE WITH THREE BALCONIES) ,” in 11th Convention of the European Acoustics Association, Malaga: Forum Acousticum Euronoise, 2025.

[34] W. Lachenmayr, N. Meyer-Kahlen, O. Colella Gomes, A. Kuusinen, and T. Lokki, “Chamber music hall acoustics: Measurements and perceptual differences,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am., vol. 154, no. 1, pp. 388–400, Jul. 2023, doi: 10.1121/10.0020066.

[35] M. Mónica, P. Mendonça, J. Miranda Guedes, and A. P. O. Carvalho, “Roof Replacement of a Heritage Building Using Transparent Solutions: Room Acoustic Performance Comparison,” International Journal of Architectural Heritage, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 284–301, Feb. 2022, doi: 10.1080/15583058.2020.1777593.

[36] V. Buggè, L. Shtrepi, G. Nocerino, M. F. Leone, and S. Pone, “Integrating design, acoustic performance and fabrication: the case of the acoustic optimization of a meeting room,” 2025, p. 015021. doi: 10.1121/2.0002236.

[37] K.-H. Lorenz-Kierakiewitz, C. Erkal, and P. Hilland, “Room acoustics of three Romanesque churches in the Rhineland − similarities, differences, characteristics,” in DAS|DAGA, Copenhagen, 2025, pp. 1146–1149.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.18860/jia.v9i1.29920

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2026 Ernaning Setiyowati, Sri Nastiti N. Ekasiwi, FX Teddy Badai Samodra

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

 

EDITORIAL OFFICE

Department of Architecture, Faculty of Science and Technology
Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang
Jalan Gajayana 50 Malang, Jawa Timur, Indonesia 65144
Phone (+62) 341 558933, Facsimile (+62) 341 558933
e-mail: journal.islamicarchitecture@gmail.com / jia@uin-malang.ac.id

 

 Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.