ARCHITECTURAL CRITICISM ON EXTERIOR PAVEMENT MATERIAL SUITABILITY OF THE MUHAMMAD CHENG HOO MOSQUE JAMBI: A UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND ACCESSIBILITY REGULATION PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This study presents an architectural critique of the exterior flooring materials at the Muhammad Cheng Hoo Mosque in Jambi, Indonesia, a mosque built in 2012 adopting the Sino-Islamic architectural style of the Surabaya Cheng Hoo Mosque and established by the Chinese Islamic Foundation of Jambi. The primary concern is the use of glossy ceramic tiles in outdoor areas, a material type widely recognised in technical literature as unsuitable for wet exterior environments. This condition creates significant slip hazards for the mosque's primary users: elderly visitors and women who are required to walk barefoot upon reaching the batas suci (sacred boundary). Using a qualitative descriptive method with structured field observation and normative literature review, this study evaluates five exterior zones against three normative frameworks: the seven principles of Universal Design, Indonesian building accessibility regulations, and general material characteristics as described in technical literature. Additionally, Environment-Behavior Theory is applied to explain the behavioral conflicts created by ritual barefoot requirements on unsafe surfaces. Findings reveal that four of five zones use glossy ceramic tiles whose surface characteristics are described in literature as having low slip resistance, critically insufficient for wet outdoor areas traversed by barefoot users. The absence of drainage gradient, tactile guidance paths, and handrails further compounds the safety risk. This study fills a dual literature gap: internationally, prior mosque flooring research focuses exclusively on interior ablution areas in arid climates; nationally, Indonesian mosque architecture research has yet to address exterior flooring safety. Design recommendations are proposed that are safe, accessible, and contextually sensitive to the building's Sino-Islamic identity.