Universities are focusing on the students’ needs as a part of interior space elements in the designing processes. However, these needs related to the design of the environmental and formulating systems. Students prefer a comfortable interior space for movement and social activities. Therefore, comfortability should be considered in the design process of the educational building, especially for students’ space. The study observed the negative space in the buildings of the University of Mosul, which students lost the healthy relationship between the open and interior space in Students’ space. The gathering points inside and outside buildings is the focus of the current study. Therefore, the problem statement is “There is a gap in the design processes of the interior space that provides a comfortable students’ space”. Therefore, the main research question is “What are influencing factors of the designing and adaptive reuse processes of the interior space in the university buildings”. The research aim is “to identify the important factors that influence students’ needs in the educational building at the University of Mosul”. A quantitative approach applied by using questioner and measuring instruments to collect data from selected case in the University of Mosul. The triangulation of the data shows the importance of direct connection between the exterior and interior space. Besides, the availability of green area, green elements, and comfortable area in the exterior and interior space are the important factors as results showed. Partially, the majority (81%) of the students preferred a free space that can students adapted to space.

Buildings in Islamic architecture are distinguished by dazzling features in general, especially religious buildings such as mosques, schools, and shrines. The literature could not find a clear identification of reaching the dazzling concept. Moreover, researchers in the Islamic architecture discipline did not focus on determining sufficient knowledge of the design methods of applying the dazzling approach in Islamic architecture, and they did not clarify a specific detailed vocabulary of Islamic dazzling concepts. However, the problem of the study was identified by observing the literature and buildings. Therefore, the formulated question encompasses “the unclear knowledge of applying designing procedure of dazzling characteristics in Islamic Architecture buildings.” The study raised an important question: “What is the design methodology of dazzling features in religious buildings within Islamic Architecture.” The study aims to identify the practical design elements, principles, and rules of the dazzling characteristics in religious buildings in Islamic architecture to draw out a guideline that designers can apply in contemporary Islamic Architecture. The theoretical framework of the dazzling concept was constructed to achieve this aim, with variables and sub-variables highlighted to identify the design methodology that can actualize dazzling concept in Islamic architecture by reviewing previous studies. The abstracted variables used in designing the checklist were applied to analyze the cases formally. Selecting cases from religious buildings from Islamic style depends on specific criteria. However, the results analyzed statically showed that dazzling concept in Islamic architecture applied in five major levels (structure, form, architectural elements, interior space, and ornamentation) with seven main principles (richness, exaggeration, uniqueness, complexity, proportion, and ambiguity). Richness is the most affected factor in applying clear dazzling concept, while exaggeration and uniqueness are second-rated factors that can impact the value. Dazzling concept is an essential characteristic that designers should apply in contemporary Islamic architecture.

Ornaments are effective interior design elements, which enhance the identity and heritage value of heritage buildings. The Mosulian ornaments represent the mixture of the culture and architectural, which are produced by Mosulian marble ‘Farish’. After the war in 2017, there was a dramatic disappearance of the original types of Mosulian ornament because of the non-oriented restoration and conservation process. UNESCO and the government sector suffered from the availability of information to find a guideline to be used in the restoration and conservation process. However, the shortage of documentations led to the disappearance of valuable ornaments, especially after investing the new technology in producing the ornaments in the conservation processes. The study aims to classify the Mosulian ornaments in terms of shape, material, and position, to construct a platform and data set of the Mosulian ornaments. The study applied a qualitative approach using observation and visual analysis methods to observe the results of the analysis with a checklist form. The results indicated that Mosulian architecture is rich in ornamental elements, floral ornaments are used in the greatest ratio than geometric, while animal shapes are rarely used. The principle of repetition in two and four steps is the main principle used in generating process. The classification of ornament can enhance the heritage value of the buildings, designers and developers can rely on this classification to design and reuse the ornament.

The educational buildings within universities are the main spaces for students' academic activities and life during the daytime, students spend 80% of their time inside these buildings. Therefore, achieving student thermal comfort requires universities to spend time and cost to prepare these buildings to be comfortable. The University of Mosul (UoM) included 24 colleges with 117 scientific departments, which contained hundreds of educational buildings occupied by 65000 students in addition to 4099 faculty staff and 3170 administrative staff. The thermal comfortability in UoM educational buildings partially achieved using the traditional method of air-conditioning units and some of the buildings still use electrical and gasoline heaters, which cost and increase the air pollution with less efficiency function. Therefore, the study is a trial to find a guideline for designing and treating the educational building using the passive and active design focusing on the facades as most elements of the building facade the outside environments and affect the internal thermal comfortability. The methodology applied simulation and analysis of a successful double-skin façade to eliminate the main steps of the design. The case study selected the following criterion of uncomfortable buildings in the UoM considering the questionnaire thermal characteristics of educational buildings. The case study is the hostel building (Al-Zahraa residential Building) within the University of Mosul. The results show three main steps that should followed by the designers in the university to achieve thermal comfortability, additionally considering the possibility of redesigning the facades.

The Baba-Nyonya shophouses have unique characteristics, which reflected the interchange of the Chinese and Malay cultures. With that, the shophouses in Georgetown-Penang have the opportunity to be included under the Baba-Nyonya influence. The cultural effects are represented in; furniture, patterns, material, colour, layout, and order. The interior space, in fact, responds to these effects. In addition, wooden embellishments is significant element in the shophouses, which possess unique mechanism to generate them. This element are affected by the technology era, which affects the process of generating. The generating of original composition of embellishments depends on the experience of the craftsman, who has the authority to form it, depending on the existing models. Therefore, there are stages in generating this element. There is needs to identify and document these stages. Moreover, the sequences of creating the patterns depend on the principles of the design should be recorded. The aim of study is to identify the stages of generating the original type that had been used the Baba-Nyonya shophouses. To provided a platform of generating new patterns with the similar gen of the original pattern. In order to conserve the algorithmic process of generating original shape of wooden embellishments. Selecting case study depended on the value of originality of the interior elements, thus, Me.N.U cafe are selected as it have a unique Peranakan interior elements, which is located in Lorog Stewart, Georgetown. This shophouse related to eclectic style 1840s–1900s. Hence, visual analysis was used to identify the algorithm of generating the wooden embellishment to draw out the guidelines and shape grammar of embellishment to generate the models related to the original gene. Thus, the current study is a mixed analyses study in determining the frequency of using the principles of design and the types of principles. Furthermore, case study and visual observation were carried out to identify the sequences, the stages, and the levels of the creating process. The result clarified the algorithmic process, which depending on three stages: micro, macro and theme. The results reflected the harmonized mixture of Baba-Nyonya characteristics within the principles of symmetry, repetition, and transformation processes were frequently employed to create various types of balance and harmony in the interior space.