The Modular Design of the Mosque of Şehzade Mehmet

Abstract

The Mosque of Şehzade Mehmet had been built between 1543 and 1548 at an important location within the Historical Peninsula of Istanbul. The complex within which the mosque is built was located on the road which lies between the Aqueduct of Valens (Bozdoğan) and the Fatih Complex. This area constituted the city center and had an impact over the silhouette of the city in the sixteenth century as it does today. The mosque was located at the center of the complex. The Mosque of Şehzade Mehmet was the first sultans mosque designed and built by Mimar Sinan. Even though Sinan himself considers the mosque as his apprenticeship work, researchers disagree. They instead identify the mosque as Sinan’s mastership work. There is a plethora of research on the works of Mimar Sinan. In some of these, the existence of modular and/or proportional architecture is discussed. These researches have been conducted within the context of approaches which accept either Western proportion systems, traditional measurement systems, or dome unit as the module. In this article too, the Mosque of Şehzade Mehmet will be analytically studied in order to find out which modular system inspired the design. However, what differs this study from other works is the existence of an extensive survey which is conducted through the use of modern technology. Thus, through this survey, the topic is thoroughly studied with an approach which takes the dome unit as the module. The results are presented by various technical drawings.