Assisted Agent-Based Simulations: Fusing non-player character movement with Space Syntax

Agent-based simulation is one of the core tools of spatial analysis utilised to provide an understanding of space when complex parameters come into play, such as how the visible space changes while traversing a building, or what happens when there is a destination to be reached. This type of simulation has a lot in common with techniques used in video games to create movement trajectories for non-player characters. Although these techniques have been developed over the years to provide more realistic and more “human-like” behaviour, they are rarely woven back into analytical and simulation tools. As a first step to remedy that, we developed a new methodology that fuses non-player character movement from computer games with simulation techniques traditionally used for agent-based analysis in Space Syntax. This first attempt utilises a different type of underlying representation of space, known as a navigation mesh. We first examine in detail two traditional techniques utilised in depthmapX agent-based analysis and highlight their strengths and limitations. We then describe how this technique differs from the classic space syntax methods, as well as how it can be combined to create hybrid analytical models of movement. The hybrid model developed in this case is that of a classic space syntax agent assisted by the aforementioned technique. We then tested and evaluated the traditional and new models for their capacity to explore two gallery spaces. The results extracted from the new hybrid simulation model depict agents with more capacity to explore, a significant addition to the traditional space syntax agent based methods

Beyond two dimensions: architecture through three dimensional visibility graph analysis

Architecture consists of spatial relations that accommodate functions, afford social relations and create visual interest. Through openings and walls, architects manipulate continuities and discontinuities of visual fields in two and three dimensions. Analytical diagrams and models of these fields have been offered by space syntax, especially through visibility graph analysis (VGA), graphing visual relations in two dimensions. This paper introduces a new approach to VGA that departs from planar restrictions. We show how a graph can be generated of inter-visible locations on a planar surface that incorporates relations among elements in three dimensions. Using this method, we extend the current space syntax analysis of architectural space to a new methodology for diagramming and modelling three-dimensional visual relationships in architecture. The paper is structured in three parts. The first section provides an overview of the principles of visibility analysis using graphs, and explains the method by which visibility relations of ‘accessible’ and ‘inaccessible’ space in two and three dimensions are computed. This leads to a graph representation, which uses a mix of ‘directed’ and ‘undirected’ visibility connections, and a new multi-variant spatial categorisation analysis that informs the properties of multi-directional graphs. The second part of the paper tests the three-dimensional visibility model through the analysis of hypothetical and real spatial environments. The third part analyses Giuseppe Terragni’s Casa del Fascio, describing architectural characteristics that are not captured by two-dimensional analysis, and allowing a comparative understanding of spatial configuration in two and three dimensions. The paper concludes with a discussion about the significance of this new model as an analytical and architectural tool

Exploring nest structures of acorn dwelling ants with x-ray microtomography and surface based 3D visibility graph analysis

The physical spaces within which organisms live affect their biology and in many cases can be considered part of their extended phenotype. The nests of social insect societies have a fundamental impact on their ability to function as complex superorganisms. Ants in many species excavate elaborate subterranean nests, but others inhabit relatively small pre-formed cavities within rock crevices and hollow seeds. Temnothorax ants, which often nest within acorns, have become a model system for studying collective decision making. While these ants have demonstrated remarkable degrees of rationality and consistent precision with regard to their nest choices, never before has the fine scale internal architecture and spatial organization of their nests been investigated. We used x-ray microtomography to record high resolution 3D scans of Temnothorax colonies within their acorns. These data were then quantified using image segmentation and surface based 3D visibility graph analysis (sbVGA), a new computational methodology for analysing spatial structures. The visibility graph analysis method integrates knowledge from the field of architecture with the empirical study of animal- built structures, thus providing the first methodological cross-disciplinary synergy of these two research areas. We found a surprisingly high surface area and degree of spatial heterogeneity within the acorn nests. Specific regions, such as those associated with the locations of queens and brood, were significantly more conducive to connectivity than others. From an architect’s point of view, spatial analysis research has never focused on all-surface 3D movement, as we describe within ant nests. Therefore, we believe our approach will provide new methods for understanding both human design and the comparative biology of habitat spaces

The space syntax toolkit: Integrating depthmapX and exploratory spatial analysis workflows in QGIS

The "Space Syntax Toolkit" is a QGIS plug-in for spatial network and statistical analysis. It provides a front-end for the depthmapX software within QGIS, offering user-friendly space syntax analysis workflows in a GIS environment. It is primarily aimed at supporting the space syntax methodology, and enhancing it with GIS data, analysis and visualisation features. Nevertheless, its functionality is of general benefit to QGIS users by introducing tools for exploratory spatial data analysis. In this article we present the "Space Syntax Toolkit", describing its principles and implementation, the features of its two initial modules - "Graph Analysis" and "Attribute Explorer" - and give indication of future developments

Big Data and Workplace Micro-Behaviours: A closer inspection of the social behaviour of eating and interacting

Evidence-based design aims to understand human behaviour so that strategic decisions are well-informed when creating a new space. Workplace research to date has provided interesting insights, but has mostly done so on a case-by-case basis. This approach does not yield generalisable patterns, making results problematic to use in an evidence-based design context. This paper builds upon previous large-scale analysis done by the authors and focuses on two aspects of workplace behaviour – eating and interacting. We aim to understand the nuances of these behaviours, thus we explore them as independent phenomena, separate them into subcategories and set out to understand the reasons behind these observations. The examined dataset includes 23 organisations in the UK, with a wide variety of sizes, numbers of floors and buildings. It consists of human activity data collected through direct observation, Visibility Graph Analysis and organisational parameters such as industry and flexibility of desk occupancy. The first behaviour we focus on – interaction – has already been explored in previous research and has been found to happen primarily in workspace and meeting rooms. In this instance we initially classify interactions according to the activity of the members and the type of space they occur in. The analysis of the second behaviour – eating – revolves around the activities and locations of people at lunchtime. We aim to discover where people choose to eat and how this is affected by the characteristics and availability of eating spaces. For the two behaviours studied, we examine how each activity relates to the space it is happening in, taking into account a set of spatial and organisational factors. In the first case we test each interaction against proximity to circulation and local visibility of the space, while in the second we examine the popularity of different types of spaces, for example canteens and breakout spaces, against their proximity to workspace and what possibilities of inter-visibility they offer. This paper provides detailed insights into the phenomena of interacting and eating, and reflects on limitations of traditional statistical analysis. It will also highlight further opportunities for handling these types of big datasets using different techniques such as Principal Component Analysis and machine learning

Views of domesticity from fascism to democracy: The shifting architectural paradigms of Portuguese public housing, 1969-1982

The mass construction of public housing throughout the 20 th -century across Europe had a great impact on the way cities grew. The urban and therefore social impact of housing estates has been thoroughly studied both within and outside the field of Space Syntax. However, decades after the first efforts within the field at deconstructing simplistic claims of deterministic relationships between architectural form and social problems, these continue to be used to justify dismantling public housing programmes and demolishing existing estates. This research searches to counter deterministic arguments by arguing that the architecture of 20 th -century public housing is not a homogeneous paradigm, but rapidly transforming design ideas that translated similarly shifting social views of city, class, and domesticity. The paper focuses on 33 housing projects built in Porto between 1969 and 1982, accompanying deep transformations in Portuguese society, most importantly the shift from dictatorship to democracy in 1974. The results show clear differences at all scales of housing between the different housing programmes implemented during this period that are significant to developing a more complete understanding of the role of 20th century public housing in city-shaping, but also for re-examining the classic syntactic definitions of estates and of the soft and hard solutions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Organising family life: An analysis of the spatial organisation of people and activities in the household

How Cultural Patterns Are Reflected On Domestic Space Has Been Vastly Discussed In Space Syntax Literature. The Genotype Analogy Was Developed With The Underlying Notion That The Configurational Properties Of Architectural Function Reflect Patterns Of Use And Activity That Are Culturally Structured. The Paper Will Further Investigate This Question By Looking At How The Domestic Space Is Able To Organise Activities, And Therefore Individuals And Groups, Through The Spatial Division And Determination Of Architectural Function. It Will Examine A Series Of Interpretative Inquiries On The Way Familiesperceived And Used The Domestic Space, Which Were Developed In The 1970s In Portugal With The Explicit Aim Of Relating Spatial Attributes With The Way Space Was Used. This Was Not Achieved At The Time, And The Results Presented In The Published Documents Were Not Able To Take Space Into Consideration. The Paper Focuses On Two Questions Which Were Proposed At The Time As Being Major In How Relationships Within The Family Reflect The Ongoing Transformation Of Society As A Whole: The Patterns Of Use Of Women In Relation To The Rest Of The Family, And Of Parents In Relation To Children. Exploratory Data Analysis Will Be Used To Understand Where Domestic Activities Take Place In The House According To Configurational Properties And Other Spatial Attributes Of The Apartment Plans, As Well As Patterns Of Space Use By Different Family Members Across Several Households

Reversing Urban Food Deserts: Data-driven adaptive food networks for urban resilience

Dense urbanization highlights the need to explore metabolic processes and mechanisms for developing resilient and adaptive solutions to ecological challenges. The recent pandemic intensified the pressure to re-evaluate the existing urban foodscapes by revealing disparities in food accessibility. Studies indicate that food deserts are present even in the centre of metropoles, bringing forth the question of the relation between food, segregation and urban morphology. This research introduces a Machine Learningassisted computational tool that evaluates food networks and identifies optimal new spatial configurations based on curated data analytics, unsupervised machine learning models and space syntax. Its primary focus is the creation of a unified model connecting urban morphology, socioeconomic and temporal data. The output provides the planners and local authorities with a set of possible intervention patterns for food-related functions aiming to assist decision-making processes

Views of domesticity from fascism to democracy: The shifting architectural paradigms of Portuguese public housing, 1969-1982

The mass construction of public housing throughout the 20 th -century across Europe had a great impact on the way cities grew. The urban and therefore social impact of housing estates has been thoroughly studied both within and outside the field of Space Syntax. However, decades after the first efforts within the field at deconstructing simplistic claims of deterministic relationships between architectural form and social problems, these continue to be used to justify dismantling public housing programmes and demolishing existing estates. This research searches to counter deterministic arguments by arguing that the architecture of 20 th -century public housing is not a homogeneous paradigm, but rapidly transforming design ideas that translated similarly shifting social views of city, class, and domesticity. The paper focuses on 33 housing projects built in Porto between 1969 and 1982, accompanying deep transformations in Portuguese society, most importantly the shift from dictatorship to democracy in 1974. The results show clear differences at all scales of housing between the different housing programmes implemented during this period that are significant to developing a more complete understanding of the role of 20th century public housing in city-shaping, but also for re-examining the classic syntactic definitions of estates and of the soft and hard solutions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio