mohammad farshidi

Problem statement:

 Space syntax refers to a set of theories and techniques concerned with understanding spatial configuration and its impact on the formation of social relations in architecture and urban environments. The present study investigated cases of contemporary housing in Isfahan to explore the overall structure of contemporary housing and examine whether space syntax analyses have managed to play an influential role in understanding the relationship between spatial configuration and behavioral patterns. It also manifests the spatial-social structure of contemporary housing in Isfahan. It would appear that space syntax has been generally quite effective in understanding the relationship between built space and residents’ behaviors; however, the vital role of each space’s unique attributes cannot be overlooked.

 Research objective:

The present study seeks to investigate the capabilities of space syntax in predicting social interactions based on a space syntax analysis of contemporary housing.

To achieve research goals, five cases of single-unit dwellings constructed over the recent decade were examined through justified graphs and VGA analysis. Interviews with dwellers were then held to develop behavioral pattern maps based on the components of interaction establishment. These maps were later compared through logical reasoning, based on which the manner of interaction establishment between space configuration and individuals’ interaction in the formation of the contemporary housing’s spatial-social system was compiled.

Space syntax analysis at a general and macro scale can prove beneficial in setting boundaries and forming behaviors based on the interactions between the components of contemporary housing. However, its efficiency declines at a smaller scale when the audience develops a closer relationship with space components, in which case environmental analyses become more effective.

Problem statement:

 As a logical research system, the architectural space syntax method has been profoundly developed in recent decades. However, despite all its advantages, it has received serious criticism such as negligence of the individual and mental characteristics of the built environment, existential integrity of the human in the space, and analysis of the behavioral patterns based on the space configuration. The present study attempts to understand how such characteristics of space can be investigated simultaneously with the space configuration. This article assumes that using a weighted graph instead of a simple graph allows for determining the unique value of each space, leading to more precise and reliable results.

The article seeks to take into account the impact of mental components of space, apart from space configuration, on the movement and, consequently, the behavior of a human in an architectural building. The simultaneous analysis of the weights of mental components and space syntax can correct some defects of the current approach in space syntax analyses.

The analyses performed in the study were both qualitative and quantitative. The integration and agent-based analyses, as two parameters related to the research subject, were performed to study the spatial organization of the Iranian Artists’ House through two approaches. The weights of the mental components were first determined using a simple graph and the depthmap software. In the second method, they were calculated using the AHP method and considered in the space syntax calculations. Eventually, the reliability of the outcomes was compared using the gate count method.

The comparison of the two methods revealed that the results obtained from the weighted graph were more precisely in line with the movement flows in the space of the Iranian Artists’ House.