Project Description
Architects define space through the positioning of points, lines, and planes. The resulting configuration shapes how people people experience buildings through visual perception and physical movement. Space affects how discoverable certain destinations are for building users. For several decades, researchers have used a technique called “space syntax analysis” in order to understand continuities of visual fields and physical movement in two dimensions. Computer-aided drafting programs make this two-dimensional analysis straightforward. One can measure the degree of visual connectivity among spaces (how easy it is to see from one space to another, integration (how many turns it takes to travel from one space to another), and step depth (how far it takes to travel from one space to another). The current limitation with space syntax analysis is that has been limited to two dimensions. This research will develop a three-dimensional approach to analyzing architectural space via both analysis of architectural floor plans (how buildings look when sliced horizontally) AND building sections (what buildings look like when sliced vertically).
Tasks and Responsibilites
The student will assist the research mentor and a PhD student in developing a computer based strategy for measuring visual connectivity, integration, and step depth. The student will be responsible for translating architectural drawings into a data format that can then be used for 3D graph analysis, conduct the analysis, and develop visualization strategies to effectively communicate to architects and clients. After that, we will embark on a comparison of the spatial qualities of different buildings. Our primary interest is student unions. These are buildings with a lot of traffic and a lot of internal destinations. Yet, they are often large and complex. The capacity for “discoverability” of these destinations is often limited. We intend to use 3D visibility graph analysis as a way to assess discoverability as a means to become aware of and find one’s way to important destinations. For example, the student involvement space in the UWM Union is relatively hidden up on the fourth floor.
Desired Qualifications
None Listed.