[11] Sinan added domed porticos along the lateral façades of the building (on the northeast and southwest sides) that help to conceal the supporting buttresses of the structure and to give the exterior a greater sense of monumentality.

The twin minarets, attached to the mosque, have two balconies with muqarnas sculpting and interlacing geometric decoration in low relief carved on their shafts.

[17][18] In addition to the layout's symmetry, Sinan's early innovations are evident in the way he organized the structural supports of the dome.

[12] The four heavy pillars supporting the dome were a drawback of the design because they distracted from the unity of the space, but Sinan tried to compensate for this by giving them irregular shapes that make them appear less massive.

Some of these later restorations retained much of the composition of the original classical Ottoman designs while updating them to reflect new techniques adopted under European influence, such as shading.

[19] New designs were also added, and among the more classical-like motifs are details that clearly date from the Ottoman Baroque period, although these too have since been repainted and are no longer original.

He instead experimented with other designs that seemed to aim for a completely unified interior space and for ways to emphasize the visitor's perception of the main dome upon entering a mosque.

[24] Despite Sinan's opinion, the symmetrical design of the Şehzade Mosque, with its central dome and four semi-domes, proved popular with later architects in the Ottoman Empire.

The other buildings of the Şehzade Mosque complex include a medrese, a tabhane (guesthouse), a caravanserai, an imaret, a small mektep (primary school), and a cemetery with several mausoleums.

[35]To the south of the Şehzade mausoleum is the smaller octagonal türbe of Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasha, which was also designed by Sinan.

[39]It was said that the "green column" standing at the edge of the cemetery wall of Sehzade complex facing Şehzade Mosque and the street was erected at the location deemed to be the center of Istanbul.