Hillier, B and Burdett, R and Peponis, J and Penn, A (1987) Creating Life: Or, Does Architecture Determine Anything? Architecture et Comportement/Architecture and Behaviour , 3 (3) 233 - 250.
![[img]](/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png)
| PDF - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader 1155Kb |
Abstract
As far as spatial layout is concerned the question of "architectural determinism" has two components: does spatial layout influence the pattern of space use and movement? and does this patterning of "spatial life" have social implications? In this paper, an attempt is made to answer the first question by, first, using space syntax to analyse generic properties of a large sample of towns and urban areas; and second, using the hypotheses derived from this analysis to explore the relation between spatial layout and movement patterns in a sample of real case studies of urban areas and housing estates. It is argued that the results show that spatial layout in itself generates a field of probabilistic encounter, with structural properties that vary with the syntax of the layout. Finally, it is argued that this encounter field may be a more important social and psychological factor than has been allowed.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Creating Life: Or, Does Architecture Determine Anything? |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Additional information: | Imported via OAI, 16:54:26 4th May 2005 |
| UCL classification: | UCL > School of BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School > Bartlett School of Graduate Studies |
View download statistics for this itemArchive Staff Only: edit this record