Spatial Configuration

This work constitutes a theoretical study of the edge-detection method by means of the Jensen-Shannon divergence, as proposed by the authors. The overall aim is to establish formally the suitability of the procedure of edge detection in digital images, as a step prior to segmentation. In specific, an analysis is made not only of the properties of the divergence used, but also of the method's sensitivity to the spatial variation, as well as the detection-error risk associated with the operating conditions due to the randomness of the spatial configuration of the pixels. Although the paper deals with the procedure based on the Jensen-Shannon divergence, some problems are also related to other methods based on local detection with a sliding window, and part of the study is focused to noisy and textured images.

When this is written, the world holds its breath, waiting for the US to decide on a plan to save the countrys (and the worlds in prolongation) financial market. What and who will dictate growth and prosperity internationally in the future are at stake. This is also a moment for developing deeper understanding of underlying spatial prerequisites for the interdependency of local, regional and global knowledge driven economies. This paper introduces a proposed research project with an aim to analyse the relation between the spatial constitution of urban regions and their relative success in the international competition for talent, capital and investments. Spatial analysis will be conducted both on the macro level: the relation and accessibility between urban regional nodes and on the micro level: the spatial structure of the urban nodes themselves. The project is a trans-disciplinary collaboration between economic geography and urban morphology and has the following objectives: one, t...

Heterogeneity of agricultural landscapes is supposed to be of significant importance for species diversity in agroecosystems. Thus it is necessary to account for structural aspects of landscapes in land management decision processes. Spatial ...

The growth of the city and the urban reconfigurations have contributed to the redistribution and evolution of social and social practices in the urban public space in mass housing quarters, research on inhabited persons in the Constantine public space must therefore contribute to an upstream reflection on the process question of the modes of production, and downstream on changes in daily practices of the social groups that make and live the city. Confronting public policies and social intentions contained in the desired project participates in generating knowledge on the complex question of inhabiting it, and interactions between spaces designed-products and is received-delivered by users. This research is attempting to take a fresh look at nature's relationship between spatial reconfigurations and new socio-spatial practices in urban public spaces in mass housing quarters, considered as articulated and meaningful symbolic systems. It is a question of observing and understanding these two processes, and interpreting practices of appropriation and use of public spaces, with a particular interest given to the mode of inhabiting, with a view to optimal and adequate anticipation of the use by the planners, and designer in order to reduce the gap between designed and lived space.

Human activities and movements in space have attracted considerable research interest in planning. One of the major issues in the human movement studies is data collection, which concerns the poor understanding of pedestrian spatiotemporal behavior. Most of the earliest data collection methods are based on questionnaires and observations. Later on technologies are applied. With increasing the availability of mobile phone and improvement of features of the mobile phones, it is now more feasible than ever before to operationalize and implement the data collection of individuals. This study aims to investigate the applicability and usability of mobile GIS as a data collection method on human movements. The study is carried out by selecting a case study. University of Moratuwa premises is selected as the study area. Findings reveal that mobile GIS method has a high efficiency, accuracy and reliability as a data collection method for human movement comparative with other methods. The study finally attempts to develop a framework for Mobile GIS as a data collection method for human movement
for further studies.

Space organization and space layout in buildings are complex issues in architectural design. People spend most of their lives in offices, yet office buildings still get little attention. This paper examines the potential role of office space typologies in saving distance and time spent by users communicating between these spaces. The study adopts multiple methodologies to scrutinize users' paths and track their movement. Diversity in methodologies provides a deep understanding of how spatial configurations of these spaces affect users' movement. Three office buildings were selected in Erbil city to represent three different office space typologies. The study revealed the effective role of office space typologies in influencing the level of user satisfaction and comfort, concluding that the most influential factors in providing distances and time are circulation patterns, entry and exit locations that require considering function, organizational and administrative structure of building spaces, and balancing between horizontal and vertical accessibility.

The ‘Generic or Universal City’ which is formed by the ‘genetic code’ and based on the mathematical analysis of Space Syntax is considered as the greatest contribution of Bill Hillier to the Complexity Theory of Cities. In the core of this, there is the finding that spatial configuration is correlated with the physical movement in cities. This in turn influences the land use patterns and the centre formation which are reflected by the hierarchy of the street networks. Last but not least, a critical review of the wider context in which this theory grew up is presented. By this approach, the importance of Hillier’s contribution to the field becomes more understandable.

The architecture of the Japanese practice SANAA, led by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, seems to
be conceived so as to be spatially and programmatically ‘uncertain’, with configurations that tend to be
freed from constrictions. Characterised by multiple layers of transparent materials, their buildings establish
a continuous relationship between interior and exterior. This study focuses on the analysis of one of the
buildings designed by SANAA, the Rolex Learning Centre (RLC). The study provides an in-depth analysis
– the first of its kind using space syntax methodology – of this building looking at both spatial properties
and the social practices of users. The particular geometry of the building entails methodological challenges
and the customisation of syntax tools derived from a fluid and continuous undulated interior. New
methods of syntactical analysis are tested in order to overcome the particular morphology of the building.
In particular, this is done by the development of a series of methodological experiments concerned with the
comparison of visibility and permeability values and the role of the third dimension in space syntax theory
and applied software. The study will first analyse selected buildings from diverse functional and formal
typologies to provide a background analysis of the architecture of SANAA, to then later address the RLC.
The first section of the study identifies a strong foreground structure in the buildings analysed, but almost no
correlation between function and configuration. The analysis of the RLC shows how the spatial arrangement
is determined by the use of transparent and opaque materials, which constructs different levels of privacy,
and how this is reflected in a diverse combination of levels of visibility and permeability in different areas
of the building. Finally, a closer look to the spatial practices of users in the RLC reveals that the places that
are used in a more informal way are those characterised by a disjunction between levels of visibility and
permeability. This is considered an incisive conclusion that, added to the methodological experimentation
performed in the study, can provide an alternative way to understand the relationship between spatial
complexity and functional uncertainty in buildings.

The theory of architecture has an inquisitory point of view through the design, production or the use of space. Thinking upon the space and its interrelations between other subjects, the main problematic of this research is the space as configuration: how it constitutes itself and relates with human. Thus, the point can be divided into two groups which are the physical formation of the space and the social experience of the person self. Relating these two subjects, the patterns of space and the patterns of culture comes up to the issue. Spatial configuration can be defined as a progressive process which connects the built environment and the human's spatial experience and behaviour. Nevertheless, apart from this connection the configuration of space has also a cultural meaning which relates with the everyday life living patterns. With this regard, firstly the theoretical background is being discussed through examining the physical formation of the space: shape and spatial configuration. Secondly, the social experience of the human is being discussed while understanding human's spatial experience and cultural living patterns. On the third part, the space syntax technique opened up to the issue, reading both the patterns of space and culture. It is aimed to see the possibilities of space syntax in order to understand the social logic of the space. Thus, some plans will be analysed using the space syntax diagrammes and comparisons are being made. The relation between the patterns of space and culture will be investigated. The findings will be discussed upon the space syntax research which defines spatial configuration as the understanding of social dimension in human environment. Introduction Description of the Subject Built form (shape) can be defined as a physical appearance in architecture. Nevertheless, it constitutes a space having configurational properties which also have social and cultural meanings. Spatial arrangements consist of several organizational units in which different living patterns occur. Thus it becomes important to make a connection between the physical arrangements and the cultural living patterns of the space. According to Rapoport (1980), environments are thought before they are built. The design of a space has a prethinking process. Architects configure the space as they use this prethinking and designing process. Then there is a process of producing and using the space as it is presented. Pearson & Richards (1994) examines this as ''We build in order to think and act. The relationship is essentially dynamic and reflexive. Winston Churchill said that-first we shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us-''. So we can consider that there is a kind of interaction between the space we built and the built space that effects us. The conception of a space can be shallowly defined as a series of objects that exists and the organisation of them or in other words the way they come together. So the first part of the research subject can be examined the space and the spatial organisation. On the other hand, there is also a human who involve in the space and constitute a new kind of meaning in the space. Heidegger focuses on this point as ''What is being?'' and the word ''Dasein'' which refers to ''Being there''. For Heidegger, a building was built according to the specifics of place and inhabitants, shaped by its physical and human topography (Sharr, 2007). Thus, the second part comprises from the human as involving in the space with its internal experiences. In addition, the human spatial experience lead us to the cultural living patterns. The reason why there is a two-sided relation between the space and the human is that of the patterns of the space which affect the human and the patterns of the culture that influence the space. The third part of the subject is then understanding both the patterns of space and the culture.

Space syntax has established itself as a significant field of research into architectural and urban phenomena through the analysis of spatial configuration. Analyses that predominantly consist of variations on modelling spatial configurations as systems of axial lines, segments, convex spaces or isovists with further refinements. This analysis builds on the process of, as stated in the Social Logic of Space, first making discrete units out of continuous space, so as to create a system that can be analyzed, and then subjecting this system to analysis. The procedures of creating these discrete systems have seen many iterations, lately often employing a range of processes to road center line maps or similar existing geographical information or, increasingly dominantly for buildings, VGA analysis where isovists are distributed evenly in a grid in the space subject to analysis. This has allowed for more rapid analysis of larger sets of data and ostensibly less impact of human decisions in constructing the analytic models. At the same time, theoretical developments have increasingly looked to cognition to explain statistical results and to theorize the spatial units employed in syntactical analysis. This work has been important for the field. However, some important questions still await robust theoretical reconciliation. For instance, isovists, argued for as representation of vision, are employed both to analyze visibility and accessibility while the scale and type of object or material boundary that is considered a boundary in an axial line or convex space map varies. This article does not strive to provide a final resolution to these challenges, but discusses and refines the theoretical basis to provide potential paths forward. In this discussion, the article compares spatial configuration as the understanding of the combination of construction of pre-defined entities to spatial configuration as the result of subdivision and articulation of spatial differentiation in several ways, which incorporates cognition as an active faculty that operates in relation to intent and background of whomever is concerned, but also allows to consider the potential of different cultures embedded in cognition through notions of salience and articulation. It suggests that some of the difficulties in finding a clear-cut definition of e.g. 'convex space' lies in that rather than a geometric property of 'space', one might look to their formation and articulation by material boundaries as culturally and situationally conditioned. This allows for a more dynamic yet not completely relativistic theoretical ground for developing analytic modelling further and meeting challenges that are yet theoretically unresolved.

The first Latin American buildings for schools of architecture were purposely designed and built during the 1950s under the discussion and influence of Modern movement ideas. This paper analyses the Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Artes - Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería (FAUA-UNI) in Perú, the Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo - Universidad Central de Venezuela (FAU-UCV) in Venezuela, the Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (FAU-UFRJ) in Brazil, and the Facultad de Arquitectura- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (FA-UNAM) and compares them with the Bauhaus School of Design (BSD) and Chandigarh College of Architecture (CCA) as built referents of Modernism and designed by Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, respectively.
The analysis is theoretically framed by the laws of the generation of form, as put forward by Bill Hillier (1989). It consists of three sections: an analysis of the architectural object and its spatial structure; a discussion of the influence of pedagogical aspects on the object; and the ‘effect back’, from the spatial structure to the users of the buildings. The main objective is to identify how the ideas of the Modern movement influenced the design of these schools in the 1950s in terms of spatial configuration and perception, over and above formal properties. The findings show that there are similarities between the Latin American Schools the Bauhaus School and the CCA in ways of thinking and ways of teaching architecture, but most importantly in spatial configuration and patterns of movement. 
Furthermore, the last stage of the analysis termed the ‘effect back’ (Hillier 1989), shows how the organisation of the Latin American Schools is directly influenced by the interior–exterior spatial relationships in these buildings.

Anatolia has witnessed many Ottoman structures, yet, Topkapı Palace may be the most significant one that has influenced the distribution and control of power. The Palace was built in the longest-term capital of the Empire, Istanbul, and reflected architectural and environmental features that were developing and expanding at the site for about half of the 600 years of reign of the Ottoman Empire. The palace is the symbol of interaction, social and spatial order, privacy and the territoriality affecting the overall administrational and social structure. The three-fold interaction between the Sultan, various chambers of administrational levels and the public is the key concept that the research is based on.
Although construction of The Topkapı Palace first started in 1459 after Istanbul became the capital of Ottoman Empire, its significant role on reflecting Ottoman ruling is undeniable. The transformation and expansion character of the Palace give clues for understanding how the order is facilitated through the governing and social issues. Therefore, in this research the concept of state that lie behind the tradition of ruling, its reflection to architectural space and the latent aspects of public-and private relations embedded in a deep hierarchy are examined and compared within the context of Mehmet II (Fatih) and Süleyman I (Kanuni)  eras of the Topkapı Palace.
The palace as the royal residence of the sultan and the centre of social issues as well as the centre for government, is a complex structure, settled on a large area, configured through the spatial hierarchy on the interfaces of four main courtyards and the relationship between the administrative, residential and auxiliary spaces. At its peak complexity, Topkapı Palace was home to as many as 4,000 people, while containing many public and private facilities such as mosques, hospitals, bakeries, as well as a mint in its territory.
As the courtyards are the interface between the public and the private, through ceremonies and rituals, integration of indoor and outdoor spaces, the level of visibility through the palace complex and its effects on the spatial meaning are explored. Therefore, depending on the complex and developing physical structure of the palace a two-fold syntactic comparison is executed in this research; in order to define spatial hierarchy of spaces, public-private interfaces and the overall rationale behind the power concept. At the first stage, the configuration of the courtyards and thresholds of both periods are examined through defined reference nodes; whereas at the second stage Süleyman I era is scrutinized. The first stage gives an overall panorama on the motion flow, while the second stage focuses on the building scale.
Syntactic findings show that the effects of transformation through administrational and institutional structure from 15th century to 16th century in Ottoman Empire have affected the spatial order and meaning in Topkapı Palace, in terms of deeper hierarchy, centralization of power, and introversion. On the other hand, while the state based on traditions keep their significance within the spatial configuration, and the existence of power remains solid.

The study of urban form, referred to urban morphology, can be characterized by a number of different perspectives. This paper tries to introduce the term “urban arcade” as a highly distinctive and specific architectural form that shapes the urban environment. Although urban arcades in Istanbul used to be designed with the prevision of connecting the main street to the secondary ones, today, some of their entrances are blocked for private use, and lost their functional attractiveness. In order to explore the sustainable parameters of the urban preferences in the main historical street of Istanbul, “Istiklal Street”, the urban arcades will be examined.
Urban passages are defined as “covered arcades” that mostly serve as shopping facilities. Besides they have many characteristic architectural forms, their main function is connecting two or more streets and squares to each other, and affect the urban morphology by playing significant role in urban spatial structure. With their distinctive forms, and underlined characteristics, urban arcades stand between architectural scale and urban scale.
The study, which is presented in this paper, tries to answer the questions below;
•          Does a correlation exist between the locations of the passages and their continuity in use?
•          Does the syntactic pattern of the street orient the urban passages and their preferences?
“Istiklal Street” is selected for the case study, which is the longest pedestrian shopping district in Istanbul. Since 1850s, Istiklal Street has become one of the most preferential local point, and today, is being visited by two million people a day for both shopping and leisure activities. The street is connecting “Taksim Square” and the old district, which is called “Galata”. Within the case study, primarily the Istiklal Street will be structurally analyzed by considering the urban blocks, streets and urban arcades; secondly 8 urban arcades, which are located in the Istiklal Street, will be analyzed due to their locations in the Istiklal Street, architectural configurations, functions (entertainment, retail, food and beverage, service) and pedestrian frequencies. Although some of the existing urban arcades have been blocked and lost their function of connection in time, this study will try to understand if urban form of the Istiklal Street and configuration of the arcades’ relationship has a role on this situation.
In this research, observation and data collection related with the pedestrians’ preferences in the urban arcades will be comparatively studied with syntactic values of the arcades. “University of Michigan” licenced “Syntax 2D” will be used in order to make the analysis.
In conclusion, the study will try to examine how the distribution and location of urban arcades affect their potential of use, which exist in the most well-known and visited historical shopping district of Istanbul. This research aims to make a comparison of 8 urban arcades’ configurations and their relationship with the main street by using syntactical analyses.

Pedestrian movement (natural movement, to movement, through movement), attractors (mode), configuration

Abstrak Seiring kemajuan teknologi membuka kesempatan bagi pekerja untuk tidak hanya terikat di satu ruang kerja permanen, coworking space hadir sebagai ruang kerja yang mampu mengakomodasi berbagai kebutuhan pengguna secara bersamaan. Coworking space memfasilitasi penggunanya untuk secara bebas berkolaborasi, namun tetap berfokus pada kepentingan individu. Sebagai ruang kerja kolaboratif, pengguna coworking space dapat berasal dari berbagai bidang pekerjaan, dimana mereka tentu memiliki perilaku kerja serta kebutuhan ruang kerja yang berbeda. Tiap individu memiliki tingkat kebutuhan akan interaksi, fokus dan privasi yang berbeda. Hal ini memengaruhi bagaimana cara mereka mengkondisikan ruang untuk bekerja, kapan dan sejauh mana mereka ingin berinteraksi atau tidak berinteraksi dengan lingkungan sekitar ketika bekerja. Di lain pihak, kolaborasi dan komunikasi ialah hal yang tidak dapat dihindarkan, bahkan merupakan nilai tambah sebuah coworking space. Hal ini menjadi tuntutan bagi coworking space untuk memiliki fleksibilitas dalam mengakomodasi penggunanya, tanpa serta merta memisahkan pengguna berkebutuhan berbeda. Fleksibilitas yang dimaksudkan ialah kemampuan adaptasi ruang untuk mengakomodasi perubahan kebutuhan penggunanya. Fleksibilitas ruang dapat dihasilkan oleh penataan elemen fisik ruang yaitu keterhubungan ruang, zoning, obyek dalam ruang dan pembatas ruang, dimana pengaturan fisik ini juga memengaruhi tingkat fleksibilitas yang dirasakan pengguna secara psikologis. Fleksibilitas secara fisik dapat diukur melalui konfigurasi, dimana oleh konfigurasi dapat dideterminasi level kedekatan, pembatasan ataupun fasilitasi komunikasi. Fleksibilitas tidak menjadi kebutuhan mutlak ruang untuk dapat menjalankan fungsinya, tetapi sebagai nilai tambah ruang kerja kolaboratif agar dapat mengakomodasi perilaku kerja penggunanya yang beragam.

Behaviour of the people are affected by stimuli of various kind in the built environment, whereas one of the major issues is the "interaction" and in which interface the interaction is taking place is crucial. In the context of this study interaction is defined as interaction with other people; interaction with the space and its geometry; and interaction with the occasions within the environment. "Interaction" herein is also mainly based on three parameters that are co-presence, visibility and permeability. In this study, spaces and the inhabitants of the selected universities are the focus point in case of the relation between configuration of space and behaviour. The study improved upon the "interface possibilities" in social interaction spaces of selected universities of Istanbul that are also educational buildings. In Space Syntax Theory, interface is defined in the context of individuals (visitor-inhabitant; different kinds/groups of users of the building); whereas in this study, interface is taken as the interaction of different kinds of spaces that is space-space interaction. In addition, permeability is taken as the feature of a space to be accessed at knee level and visibility is taken as the feature of a space to be accessed via eye level. While defining these, in permeability analysis, all the obstacles at knee level (obstacles related with the physical access) are taken into consideration whereas in visibility analysis, just the obstacle at eye level (obstacles related with the visual access) are taken into consideration. For the interface possibilities, two types are defined: interface based on visibility and interface based on permeability. The main question is whether permeability or visibility within the environment is more effective on the behaviour of people, this argued upon the relative asymmetry of these concepts. For the investigation of this main discussion five architecture schools in Istanbul are selected as case studies which has different characteristics and possibilities in case of visibility/permeability relations. In these schools, entrance floors are the focus point as they are hosting both two parameters more than other floors of the faculties. The cases are examined through quantitative methods including convex space graphics that are produced from justified graphs; visual graph analysis; space syntax analysis and statistics are supported with the qualitative methods based on observations of users' behavior modes. In order to evaluate the analysis firstly, convex space analysis based on visibility and permeability evaluated comparatively between five schools and some pre-results put forward. Then results from "syntax 2D" analysis and observations overlapped with statistical analysis of Regression Analysis investigated through SPSS and compared with foreseen situations from the comparison of convex space graphs. In conclusion, the behaviour of people seemed to be depending on visibility more than permeability in social interaction spaces of architecture schools. Moreover, informal usage of the spaces seems to be more in spaces where relative asymmetry is high as it is stated in the study of Araguez and Psarra (2015) for Rolex Centre, as well. Further discussions to be held in other levels and other organizational charts.

西安與羅馬各自擁有豐厚的歷史積澱與城市遺址，其在保護與發展之間的張力、互動值得比較。西安歷代都城曾屢次短距離「水平遷移」，留下多處大型遺址區；羅馬城則始終定著於一處，後代城市層層「垂直疊壓」於舊城之上。兩座古都基於其興衰歷程、以及重要的文化象徵地位，如今皆以保護遺址、發展旅遊作為重返輝煌的手段。大型城市遺址既延遲城市現代化的進程，同時亦是全球地域化下城市發展的獨特資源。
結合文獻與實地調查，本文以分析兩類遺址的歷史成因、耙梳兩種保護思維的轉變為基礎，探討遺址分佈的特殊性如何分別引導西安、羅馬城市風貌的形塑，細察遺址保護與城市發展之間的互動。本文指出兩種「將時間空間化」的方式：西安著重「空間脈絡」的完整性，催生各朝代空闊遺址及其背襯的仿古高樓天際線，移植古風的城市新區遂於地圖中浮現；羅馬則力圖呈現「時間脈絡」，層疊積累的各年代遺構錯綜拼貼於不同深度的城市地底，依序凝凍於地層剖面中。本文同時剖析、反思推動此種互動關係的社會、政治與經濟力量。
This research aims at comparing how the horizontally distributed historic heritage sites and vertically layered ones influence contemporary urban development, conservation practice, and the creation of cityscape. This article explores how such paired spatial configuration, either horizontality or verticality, shapes historic urban landscape. Xi'an and Rome are chosen to make this comparison. Xi'an is a city with several ancient heritage conservation areas scattering horizontally while Rome's urban relics are layered vertically throughout history. Similar experiences of rise and fall left the two cities with rich ancient relics that were obstructions to modernization but nonetheless monopoly resources for development. Longing eagerly for revival, both of them coincidentally adopt the same strategy of capitalizing on the cities' splendid past to nurture cultural tourism. Based on archives, maps, planning documents, and on-site empirical research, this article analyzes the formation of such two types of heritage sites, scrutinizes the transformation of conservation methodologies, and demonstrates how these two sets of spatial particularities had influenced and shaped the image of the cities. This article thus identifies two ways of "spatializing temporalities." Horizontally distributed heritage sites and adjacent areas in Xi'an had been demarcated and labeled individually to guide certain architectural styles. The sense of historical periods was accordingly materialized and located on the map. Rome's superimposed urban history was illustrated in the historical stratigraphy and the collage of relics dated back to various periods.

Space syntax research has found that spatial configuration alone explains a substantial proportion of the variance between aggregate human movement rates in different locations in both urban and building interior space. Although it seems possible to explain how people move on the basis of these analyses, the question of why they move this way has always seemed problematic because the analysis contains no explicit representations of either motivations or individual cognition. One possible explanation for the method’s predictive power is that some aspects of cognition are implicit in space syntax analysis. This article reviews the contribution made by syntax research to the understanding of environmental cognition. It proposes that cognitive space, defined as that space which supports our understanding of configurations more extensive than our current visual field, is not a metric space, but topological. A hypothetical process for deriving a nonmetric space from the metric visibility ...