Spatial Openness as a Practical Metric for Evaluating Built-up Environments

Dafna Fisher-Gewirtzman and Israel A Wagner
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Dafna Fisher-Gewirtzman: Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Technion City, Haifa 32000, Israel
Israel A Wagner: Faculty of Computer Science, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Technion City, Haifa 32000, Israel; and IBM Haifa Research Lab, MATAM Haifa 31905, Israel

Environment and Planning B, 2003, vol. 30, issue 1, 37-49

Abstract: This paper reports on a primary metric tool developed in a collaboration between an architecture researcher and a computer science researcher. The development of this tool emerged from the concept that the spatial openness (SO)—the volume of free space measured from all possible observation points—is an important quality indicator of alternative spatial configurations within given constraints; this concept is based on the idea that the geometry and morphology of the built-up environment influence perception. Previous work showed that comparative SO measurements in alternative spatial configurations are correlated with the comparative perceived density, and in particular that a higher value of SO indicates a lower perceived density. We present a feasible 3D computational method for measuring SO and demonstrate its potential use in the design process. The SO metric is a step towards the development of quantitative comparative evaluation of building shapes and spatial configurations related to the 3D observation of open space.

Date: 2003
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envirb:v:30:y:2003:i:1:p:37-49

DOI: 10.1068/b12861

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