Notable gains have been made in understanding the factors that influence student experiences
in higher education, particularly in the area of spatial configuration. Indeed, studies have found
that spatial configuration affects spatial behaviour and movement patterns (e.g., Hillier et
al., 1993). Increasingly physical and spatial supports are provided to ensure the efficacy and
efficiency of learning activities in higher education (Higgins et al., 2005; Brown & Long, 2006;
Dugdale & Long, 2007; Dugdale, 2009). Consequently, the informal learning spaces became
a pivotal architectural design strategy for universities to enhance interior design quality and
improve learning environments. It is definitely an effective way to improve learning performance
in the higher educational facilities if well-designed informal learning spaces could improve
student experiences within them. Even though the development of purpose-built informal
learning spaces is a strategy to enhance student experiences, it is becoming more prevalent.
The empirical research in this area is still lacking. What appears to be missing in this enquiry is
how the built environment, namely the shape of the learning environment, influences student
activities.
Using Hillier’s (2007) definition of intelligibility as the relationship between local and global
configurational factors, this paper aims to examine the impact of spatial configuration upon
frequency of student activities in an educational complex based on space syntax theory and
behavioural observation. In order to achieve this assumption, we correlated the data between
the observation data of the frequencies of six student activities: Focused Informal Learning,
Serendipitous Encounter, Intermittent Exchange, Focused Socialising, Dietary Related
Activities and Ambient Sociality. The spatial attributes were derived from space syntax theory in
an educational complex of the University Park campus in the University of Nottingham: Coates
Building - Pope Building - ESLC area. More specifically, there are five informal learning spaces
in the educational complex in total. The frequency of the six types of student activities were examined in five informal learning spaces in this educational complex. The findings confirm that
spatial configuration and patterns of spatial usage are related to each other. The main finding
is that there is a correlation between the degree of connectivity of the area and frequency of
student activities. The finding suggests that spatial configuration may play an important role in
determining frequencies of students socialising and informal learning activities
