>>2006,Wang Jingwen, The three-dimensional extension of space syntax and its application
Abstract
Researches on the approaches to urban design are the hot and forward-position topics for urban studies all through the ages, especially on those approaches and techniques developed to explore the order and logic of urban space. Nowadays some approaches, from space-configuration analysis to ecological analysis to location-context analysis, paraphrase urban space from different perspectives respectively. But from the practical manipulation point of view, any of them cannot analyze and grasp quantificationally the spatial configuration and fabric logic of urban. It is noticed that the theory of space syntax, which is developed lately, brings forward a brand new rational approach for urban design and research, and it inspires a kind of noumenal spatial research theory that is based on the research of objective analysis and demonstration. Space syntax makes use of impersonal, accurate and quantificational approach to depict the spatial configuration pattern of cities and architecture, and further parses deeply the spatial essence and function of cities and architecture. Undoubtedly it advances and perfects the traditional approaches to urban design enormously. However, at present the syntactic analysis aims mainly at the two-dimensional plane of space. The practical apprehension and experience of space of human beings should be three-dimensional, which includes not only the information of two-dimensional spatial pattern, but also that from the three-dimensions. Moreover, compared to the urban development in history, nowadays the three-dimensional development of urban space influences the urban configuration intensively and its effects should not be ignored. Current space syntax fails to express and explain such a three-dimensional change in the space. In terms of this situation, the paper emphasizes on carrying through the three-dimensional extension of space syntax, which aims to integrate the three-dimensional information into traditional space syntax and to develop a new three-dimensional approach to analyze urban space configuration so as to apprehend and study urban space roundly and profoundly. The specific contents in this research are as follows:
- Putting forward a theoretical framework of the three-dimension space syntax
The framework integrates space syntax with the theory of the image of the city. It includes two parts, i.e. the essential elucidation of spatial cognition pattern and image and the integration of space syntax and the image of city. The paper analyzes and demonstrates adequately the prerequisite and feasibility of the mutual complementarity and extension between space syntax and the image of the city. Moreover, the paper discusses the descriptions of mutual conversion between their spatial elements. The three-dimensional space syntax integrated with the image of the city, is different from the traditional syntax, which is only limited to nonfigurative two-dimensional spatial cognition, and it also emphasizes the important influences of the three-dimensional image points on people's behavior in space. Namely, the three-dimensional space syntax extents the two-dimensional spatial cognition of traditional syntax to the generalized three-dimensional one. Furthermore, it is quite close to the accurate description of “natural movement” which is the most basic theory of space syntax.
- Constructing a mathematic model of the three-dimensional syntactic
Based on the three-dimensional theory, a mathematic model of the three-dimensional syntactic is constructed, and its content includes how to describe the forming process of the three-dimensional spatial image pots during the cognition activity, how to construct the objective evaluation model for the three-dimensional image pots and how to put forward the concept of weighted-integration to calculate the mathematic model. In the end, the paper carries out three analysis experiments to demonstrate the three-dimensional extension for space syntax. The first experiment is to test how the spatial information derived from 3D city model (3DCM), such as each image point, influences people's behavioral decision-making in space. The conclusion is the same as the result in the practical environment and it proves the accuracy of the description of the three-dimensional syntactic theory. It also indicates that the 3DCM is a very suitable tool and a platform for people to cognize and analyze urban space. The purpose of the second experiment is to test the power of the proposed image evaluation model in detecting building with high probability of becoming image points. The conclusion indicates that image evaluation is a very effective approach for analyzing urban configuration, and the image evaluation model could mensurate exactly image points in space, and the conclusion also shows that this new approach could consummates the traditional space syntax with the realization of the fact that people's cognition structure is anchored by the three-dimensional spatial information as well as the whole spatial structure. The last experiment is designed to calculate the three-dimensional syntactical model to inspect and analyze people's behavior in urban space, accordingly to explain the influence extent of image points. The conclusion validates that the weighted-integration could describe and forecast the distribution of people's behavior in space better than the concept integration. And the extended three-dimensional syntactical model is much closer to people's spatial illation and cognition. It is more accurate to use the model to describe and grasp the urban configuration.
- The application research based on the three-dimensional space syntax
The efficient way to show the value of the three-dimensional space syntax is to combine the model with the current applications of urban design and urban spatial planning in our country. The application research consists of two parts. The first one is to carry out the multi-dimensional descriptions and information mensuration for urban space. The multiple dimensions involve form, function, society, perception and time dimensions. Corresponded with each dimensional description, individual relevant application examples are given, analyzed and discussed in detail. The conclusion indicates that the three-dimensional space syntax provides people with a feasible and accurate approach to analyze and evaluate urban space. Secondly, the research introduces the three-dimensional syntax to the synthetical spatial design for Kanmen town in China. The approach for optimizing the urban spatial configuration is put forward, based on the three-dimensional syntax. It is used to detect systematically and to optimize urban space from four aspects including traffic space, cognitive space, land use space and culture space. The conclusion shows that the three-dimensional syntax can analyze and paraphrase urban space configuration in a scientific and quantificational way, and it can also endow the correct guide for space development with rational gist.
In a word, the research of the three-dimensional extension on space syntax in this paper integrates the traditional syntax with the three-dimensional spatial information from the most essential spatial cognition of space syntax. It provides a new three-dimensional approach for analyzing urban space. At the same time, it also raises a new idea of analyzing urban configuration. The application research based on the three-dimensional space syntax can be valuable to and referred by other urban spatial study and design cases in current phases in China.
Key Words
space syntax, three-dimensional, the image of city, urban design, GI
PhD. Dissertation