SPACE SYNTAX AS A DETERMINANT OF SPATIAL ORIENTATION

This paper shows space syntax as a useful tool for the evaluation of buildings and its relationship to environmental perception. With this methodology, the spatial organization of a building was measured, obtaining a quantitative description of the relationships among the spaces within the building, which is measured in terms of how closely each space of the building is connected with the rest. We analyzed the relationship between the level of integration of each space and the perception of the settings in terms of way finding, communication and ease of movement. The results show that the spatial configuration of the building explained 27 % and 39% of the variance of dynamic and static orientation respectively. It suggests that space syntax measures could be helpful in predicting how people perceive spatial orientation