Research information
Space Syntax as a research realm is a set of techniques aimed at presenting scientific, data-oriented, theoretical understanding of architecture and built-environment in this sense, focuses on architectural thinking, deciphering the potentials of spatial formations by means of graphic-theoretical digital tools.
Space Syntax as a software tool and thinking, intends to understand and analyze the existing spatial constructions. However, there are limited experimental studies investigating the topological-geometrical probabilities of spatial configurations in recent years. This research intends to enrich the mentioned efforts and possibilities in this limited area of interest, and aims to produce a software plugin and a mobile application investigating the use of the graph based thinking in the architectural design process that generates topological and geometric layout possibilities. The purpose of this research is investigating the potential use of the conceptual framework in Space Syntax as a creative tool that generates real-time information in the architectural design process.
Although architectural design is a subjective process, some design tools/methods provide objective criteria evaluating the design and iterating with feedback. Tools for building and measuring space including network thinking allow visualization of architectural decisions for architectural programming and developing scenarios. This study is focused on the use of graph theory criteria in architectural design, emphasizes the experimental/cognitive qualities of the design process, investigates how scientific data and processes can be transferred to design and how this thinking can be integrated as a creative and informative tool.
This work first examines the possibilities and limitations of existing space syntax-oriented computer software that intends to decrypt and measure spatial networks – configurations. Then, it focuses on the construction of possible geometric space configurations from the description of abstract spatial connections. Thus, this work aims to develop a computer application that provides real-time, scientific, objective data about the space syntactic qualities of designs. The research methodology will be initiated with an extensive literature survey, followed by an extensive field study that relates to young architects, architecture students. Workshops and surveys through the use of the developed application will enable to gather data on spatial relationship mapping, different spatial perceptions and corresponding layout possibilities with a game-like interface that serves to the creative mind of the designer. The design of spatial layout concerns the arrangement of the network of relations between spatial units, and compartments. This network structure is significant in the architectural discourse, social relationships among users, interactions decipher functional and potential routes. It has always been a matter of debate how to move the scientific data into the design process. In architecture, it is thought that the network-focused thinker is valuable for architectural education and practice, as the experimental work put forward to measure spatial organizations and to use them as a design study.