Space syntax and spatial cognition: or why the axial line?

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Encoding natural movement as an agent-based system: an investigation into human pedestrian behaviour in the built environment

Gibson's ecological theory of perception has received considerable attention within psychology literature, as well as in computer vision and robotics. However, few have applied Gibson's approach to agent-based models of human movement, because the ecological theory requires that individuals have a vision-based mental model of the world, and for large numbers of agents this becomes extremely expensive computationally. Thus, within current pedestrian models, path evaluation is based on calibration from observed data or on sophisticated but deterministic route-choice mechanisms; there is little open-ended behavioural modelling of human-movement patterns. One solution which allows individuals rapid concurrent access to the visual information within an environment is an 'exosomatic visual architecture" where the connections between mutually visible locations within a configuration are prestored in a lookup table. Here we demonstrate that, with the aid of an exosomatic visual architecture, it is possible to develop behavioural models in which movement rules originating from Gibson's principle of affordance are utilised. We apply large numbers of agents programmed with these rules to a built-environment example and show that, by varying parameters such as destination selection, field of view, and steps taken between decision points, it is possible to generate aggregate movement levels very similar to those found in an actual building context

Spatiality and transpatiality in workplace environments

It is widely considered that the physical layout of workplace environments has an influence on social interaction and therefore the social structure of an organisation. However, there is little accordance among scholars from different disciplines on exactly how the relationship between space and organisation is constituted. Empirical studies often come to different conclusions: for example, on the influence of an open-plan office on communication patterns among staff, as many studies report increases as report decreases or unchanged communication behaviours. This evidence-base is further confused since few studies make a link between a profound spatial and an organisational analysis. We suggest that the inconsistency of results is for two main reasons: first, methodologies for operationalising variables differ significantly with each study tending to analyse a distinct notion of a phenomenon. This makes further comparative conclusions and predictive modelling problematic. Second, even where the same methods are used, contradictory evidence emerges, where one organisation reacts differently to another to similar spatial conditions. This suggests that, at the core of the problem, lies an apparent lack of understanding of the nature of the space-organisation relationship. This paper explores these phenomena by drawing on the results of various case studies conducted over the last few years in diverse organisational settings (a university, a research institute, and in corporate media companies). Two main lines of argument will be developed: first we will show that some influences of space on organisational behaviour seem to be generic. Understanding of these generic influences may be used to design spaces enhancing interaction and knowledge flow for any type of organisation. Second, we outline how organisations depend on context, culture and character, and may react to similar spatial configurations in a unique way. We will suggest why this may be the case, referring to Hillier and Hanson's notion of spatial and transpatial modes of social cohesion. The two underlying theoretical concepts, i.e. space as 'generic function' and spatial versus transpatial operations will be discussed concerning their application to, and meaningfulness for, workplace environments. Finally, inferences are drawn for the practice of evidence-based design

The Jewish 'ghetto': formation and spatial structure

Research into patterns of immigrant settlement has consistently indicated that certain areas of cities are prone to settlement by immigrant groups. This paper proposes that immigrant settlement of such areas may have a particular spacial pattern. Taking the case of the settlement of Leeds, England by Jewish immigrants in the latter six decades of the nineteenth century, we describe the formation of the immigrant Jewish settlement in the area called Leylands.The paper shows first, that Leylands was spacially segregated in comparison with the city overall; and second, that the pattern of settlement was one of intensification of particular streets through time, whereby initially the main, relatively integrated streets were settled, with occupancy moving as time went on to more segregated streets.Analysis of social class defined by occupation suggests that the whole population of Leylands was much poorer than that of Leeds overall. This paper suggests that since the poverty difference was present and possibly more pronounced for the majority, non-Jewish population, that the socio-economic form of the area settlement in Leeds was more likely to have been related to its spacial sgregation than to the social and economic segregation of the immigrant group. It is suggested that the particular characteristics special to certain immigrant groups allowed the Jews of Leylands to overcome their spacial segregation by employing strong social networks on the one hand and through economic mutual help on the other

The performance of space – exploring social and spatial phenomena of interaction patterns in an organisation.

It is often proposed that the design of the physical workplace influences social interaction and therefore organisational behaviour in one way or the other. Yet there is little accordance among scholars on how exactly the relationship between the social space and the social structure of an organisation is constituted. In order to explore this relationship, we combine an interpretive, phenomenological approach with a correlational, syntactic approach. Using the example of a workplace environment studied on multiple layers as well as in detail we propose that physical space influences the formation of social structure and organisational behaviour in manifold, but analytically tractable ways. The application of qualitative and quantitative methods in tandem proves fruitful for understanding the complex phenomena that characterise the emergence of organisational culture

Socio-spatial analysis of four university campuses: the implications of spatial configuration on creation and transmission of knowledge

An exploratory study of space use, interaction and students? and academics? subjectiveperceptions of interaction and vitality in the four campus sites of the PontificiaUniversidad Católica de Chile (PUC), in Santiago de Chile is presented. The fourcampuses, which differ substantially in their architecture, size and the programmaticnature of the disciplines they house, were modelled as spatial configurations usingspace syntax methods. Observations of patterns of space use and movement werecarried out and a questionnaire survey of staff and students was used to elicit perceptualand reported communication network strengths for both academic staff andstudents. One might expect that, given the twin roles of a university institution in thegeneration of new knowledge and induction of alumni into a ?professional? socialsolidarity, the roles of global and local integration would tend to compete. Globalsegregation in combination with local integration can construct the conditions forstudents to appropriate the open space and generate a powerful local identity at thelevel of the academic unit. However, global integration appears to play an importantrole in making those local solidarities accessible to one another and therefore in thegeneration of new knowledge and solidarities. The data at hand, though exploratoryin nature, suggest that the dynamic is more complex: local identity of the disciplineappears to be a necessary component in the construction of interdisciplinary ?weak?networks at the scale of the institution as a whole