Airiness and Spaciousness: Semantic Analysis of Size-related Qualities of Housing Interiors

Urbanization, land prices, and construction costs have diminished the size of housing interiors. These extreme reductions make home seekers prefer open and large spaces. Users express their tendency towards size-related qualities of space like airiness and spaciousness explicitly when negotiating to rent or purchase housing. Through a qualitative research method, this study aims to investigate the physical attributes of housing affecting the perceived spaciousness and airiness, semantic analysis of the two qualities, and establishment of an operational spatial arrangement for spacious housing. Participants of this study included 40 residents of 22 apartments in Tehran, Iran. The results of the study show that increased area, light, visual permeability, and furniture qualities had the most effect on both spaciousness and airiness. For spatial arrangement, results showed that the more the spaces merge, the more spaciousness is perceived. Since spaciousness falls under the formal/denotative meanings of environment whereas airiness belongs to symbolic/connotative meanings of environment, the two qualities should be differently measured in environmental evaluation.