InformeDesign Releases Implications on Space Synta
Washington, DC, January 5, 2007--InformeDesign recently released a new issue of Implications, a monthly newsletter on design and human behavior, that examines the field of space syntax. A set of theories and techniques for the analysis of spatial configurations, space syntax looks at the connection between the design of spaces and the social uses of those spaces, typically by examining the plans of buildings, cities or landscapes. It has been used for projects such as museums, airports, hospitals, work environments and urban planning to help determine how easily navigable a space may be and how space may be optimally configured to achieve certain design objectives.
“Space syntax attempts to make explicit the spatial relationships that underlie our everyday experience of the designed environment and the way it functions culturally and socially,” says author John Peponis, Ph.D., a professor of architecture and head of the morphology lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “It is about identifying, representing, and measuring the spatial relationships that help us to get on with our lives.” In the article, Peponis draws on examples from urban planning and office design to illustrate some of the techniques used in space syntax and the kinds of analyses it can produce.
The issue also includes summaries of two space syntax research projects. Sonit Bafna, Ph.D., an assistant professor of architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology, studied how design decisions about furniture systems affect office layout overall, and thus affect the social uses of the space and productivity. In another office study, Ermal Shpuza, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the school of architecture at Southern Polytechnic State University in Georgia, examined floorplate shape to see how building design influences interior design and thereby affects organizational function. The studies were conducted for the U.S. General Services Administration to help in making better informed decisions.
InformeDesign is the first searchable database of design and human behavior research on the Web. The site currently contains more than 1,500 “practitioner-friendly” Research Summaries of findings from research literature transformed from more than 165 scholarly journals related to design and human behavior. All services on the InformeDesign Web site are currently available at no cost to visitors. In addition to the searchable database of Research Summaries, the site features a calendar of research-related events and a glossary of terms. The Web site is interactive, allowing visitors to provide comments about specific Research Summaries or other site issues. Visitors may register with InformeDesign and receive automated e-mail notifications about Research Summaries pertaining to their areas of interest or practice. Once registered, users have access to MyInformeDesign, a tool to catalogue and store Research Summaries of interest in a personal cache, available anywhere there is access to the Internet. Registered users also will be notified by
e-mail when a new issue of Implications is published.
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