International Journal of Urban Management and Energy Sustainability

International Journal of Urban Management and Energy Sustainability

The Manifestation of Meaning in the Architecture of the Sacred Place: A Comparative Study of Jung’s Archetype and Alexander’s Living Structure (Case study: Sepahsalar Mosque and Haim Synagogue)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Elham Soleymani Nejad 1
Mohammd Mansor Falamaki 2
Ali Asgharzadeh 1
1 Department of Architecture, Cha.C., Islamic Azad University, Chalous, Iran
2 Department of Architecture, CT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/ijumes.2026.2073440.1340
Abstract
Despite the richness of historical and technical studies in Iranian architecture, the gap in analyzing the psychological dimensions and the role of the unconscious realm in the formation of sacred spaces is one of the research challenges of this field. By moving beyond the traditional stylistic approach, the present study seeks a semantic re-reading of sacred buildings from the perspective of analytical psychology and the structural principles of architecture. Its main aim is to decode Jung’s archetypes and Alexander’s structural principles in the process of creating space, in such a way that they represent the course of human development and the human life-cycle within the architectural body. Adopting a qualitative method and drawing on comparative–interpretive content analysis, this research examines two prominent buildings in Tehran as case studies. The findings show that the fundamental archetypes introduced by Carl Gustav Jung including the self, the persona, the shadow, the anima and animus, the ruler, the creator, the sage, the innocent, the seeker, the destroyer, the warrior, the magician, the jester, the orphan, the lover and the caregiver and the living structures introduced by Alexander including levels of scale, strong centers, boundaries, alternating repetition, positive space, good shape, local symmetries, deep interlock and ambiguity, contrast, gradients, roughness, echoes, the void, simplicity and inner calm, and not-separateness as primordial and universal structures of the human psyche, have played a decisive role in the process of the formation and spatial organization of the sacred places of the mosque and the synagogue.

Graphical Abstract

The Manifestation of Meaning in the Architecture of the Sacred Place: A Comparative Study of Jung’s Archetype and Alexander’s Living Structure (Case study: Sepahsalar Mosque and Haim Synagogue)

Highlights

●        Jung’s archetypes and Alexander’s living structures jointly shape sacred space.

●        16 of 17 archetypes manifest in both the mosque and synagogue (94%).

●        Both buildings guide a seven-stage path from conscious to unconscious.

●        Living structure is the objective spatial vessel of the collective unconscious.

●        “Magician” (echoes) and “creator” archetypes show the highest frequency.

Keywords
Archetype
living structure
Jung
Alexander
Sepahsalar Mosque
Haim Synagogue
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International Journal of Urban Management and Energy Sustainability

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 29 July 2026

  • Receive Date 03 October 2025
  • Revise Date 19 June 2026
  • Accept Date 29 July 2026