How Spatial Layout and Architecture Influence …martina/JamSession/architecture...5 How spatial layout and architecture influence everyday work of theoretical physicists Kerstin Sailer,

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How spatial layout and architecture influence everyday work of theoretical physicists Kerstin Sailer, April 2007

How Spatial Layout and Architecture Influence

Everyday Work of Theoretical Physicists– The Example of the mpipks –

Dipl.-Ing. Kerstin Sailer

Lehrstuhl Industriebau, TU Dresden

Young Scientists Jam Session, mpipks, Dresden, 10th of April 2007


Overview

Introduction to the study

What is the everyday work of theoretical physicists?

Architecture and spatial layout – definitions

Influences of architecture and spatial layout on everyday work

Perception and atmosphere

Social network of knowledge sharing

Movement patterns and attractors

Conclusion

Bonus Track: how do people at the mpipks see their own organisation?

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Introduction to the study

PhD at TU Dresden: „The Spaces of the Learning Organisation. The Influence of Spatial Layout and Design on Knowledge-Intensive Work“

two case studies: university (London) and research organisation (Dresden)

mpipks studied in July 2006: open observation of space usage and organisational culture

observation of movement and activity patterns

short interviews with all staff of two departments (ELCO and FISY) plus independent research groups (=109 people)

in-depth interviews with 13 people on organisation, perception of spaces, likes, dislikes (covering all groups and roles)

social network questionnaire (83% return quota)


Everyday work of theoretical physicists

short interviews: “What are your main activities?” (open question)

programming / computer simulations 69%

attending seminars 41%

reading 41%

group activities 41%

writing 40%

calculating 39%

discussing 39%

collaborating 39%

thinking, understanding 27%

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short interviews: “What are your main activities?” (open question)

writing (48%)

seminars (48%)

programming (48%)

discussing (44%)

calculating (44%)

organising (44%)

collaborating (40%)

supervising (40%)

reading (36%)

conferences (28%)

programming (69%)

collaborating (56%)

group meetings (47%)

seminars (47%)

writing (42%)

discussing (40%)

calculating (38%)

thinking (33%)

reading (31%)

developing ideas (22%)

programming (87%)

reading (60%)

group meetings (50%)

calculating (37%)

discussing (33%)

writing (30%)

seminars (27%)

thinking (27%)

analysing (23%)

presenting (20%)

professors / scientists / group leaders

postdocsPhD’s



Why is it important for architects?

programming / computer simulations

attending seminars

reading

group activities

writing

calculating

discussing

collaborating

thinking, understanding

→ seminar rooms → movement, encounter→ large group spaces→ movement, encounter, staying

→ break out areas→ break out areas

→ movement, encounter, staying→ movement, encounter, staying

→ library, reading room → movement

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Architecture and spatial layout – definitions

architecture: design, materiality, form, building

spatial layout: space, configuration, i.e. “the way the parts are put together” (Hillier 1996)

(space syntax) immaterial / non-discursive


Influences of architecture and spatial layout on everyday work

How do architecture (as material expression) and spatial layout (as underlying non-discursive and immaterial asset) influence the everyday work at the mpipks?

perception and atmosphere→ social network of knowledge sharing→ movement patterns and attractors

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Influences: perception and atmosphere

“I love the generosity of the spaces. Every morning when I enter the building, I think ‘wow‘. The staircase, the big windows, all is very bright. It makes you communicate with the people in the wide spaces. You linger on your way to somewhere, you see that someone is coming that you wanted to talk to anyway and then you stop and start talking.”


Influences: perception and atmosphere

“The building offers a very open atmosphere, whether you can implement that in your scientific work or not is another issue, because you can easily get lost in the wings of the building, but generally it is great to work here.”

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Influences: social network of knowledge sharing

short interviews: “Please name those five people with whom you would share knowledge and information most frequently.“

→ understand how and why people cluster→ which role does space play?


Influences:

group affiliation

colour of nodes: group

average density: 0.026

1.0

0.28

0.16

0.36

0.06

0.5

0.42

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Influences: group or departmental culture

colour of nodes: department




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“Our group is definitely the one with the loosest structure, you know, I am by far the oldest in here and 25 years ago I clearly had a different group structure too. That‘s the way it is.“

Prof. Fulde


Influences: ethnicity

colour of nodes: ethnic origin

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Influences: ethnicity – russian & eastern european


0.07


Influences: ethnicity – western

european and latinos


0.14

0.06

10


Influences: ethnicity – indian and asian


0.06

0.21


Influences:ethnicity –arabic andmiddle east


0.33

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Influences: space


tie: office sharing



shape: wing

Influences: space

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Influences: space – wing 2B


shape: wing

0.1



shape: wing

Influences: space – wing 2A

0.023

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Influences: social network of knowledge sharing

influencing factors on knowledge sharing network:

• group affiliation (E-I index: -0.519, i.e. 76% of links internal)

• work cultures of the group and department

• ethnic roots and common languages of individuals

• spatial proximity→ space is only one factor among many, seems to be one of the weaker influences→ space may still be very important to bring diverse groups together and broker between them (“The Strength of Weak Ties”, Granovetter, 1973)


Influences: movement patterns and attractors

How do people move through a building? How does a building influence the way people move? What guides movement of people?

“In urban systems configuration is the primary generator of pedestrian movement

patterns.”(Hillier/Penn/Hanson/Grajewski/Xu 1992: 31)

“The effects of spatial configuration are not on individuals, but on collections of

individuals and how they interrelate through space. All that is proposed, in effect,

is that a pattern of space in a complex can affect the pattern of co-presence and

co-awareness of collections of people who inhabit and visit that complex.“(Hillier 1996: 378f)→ spatial configuration versus daily needed and frequented facilities/attractors (printer,

photocopier, library, break out areas, canteen, coffee machine etc.)?

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Influences: movement – floor plans

Situation / ground floor


1st floor

1A 1C

1B

1D


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2nd floor

2A 2C

2B

2D



Influences: movement – Space Syntax methodology

A

B

A

axial line topology segment topology

B

C D

E

F

C

FED

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Influences: movement – axial map


AngularAxial Topology

Segment Topology Metric

Influences: movement – axial and segment maps

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Influences: movement – observed traces


axial topology metric distances

R2 = 0.159, p<0.0001 R2 = 0.424, p<0.0001

Influences: movement

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Influences: movement


gates leading to attractors only are excluded


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Facilities usage of all study participants:

• which attractor? (entrance, exit, printer, photocopier, kitchen, coffee bar, meeting rooms, seminar rooms, seating areas, lunch etc.)

• how often is it frequented? (exact figures: daily, weekly, monthly)

All shortest geodesic paths from each individual to each attractor (Segmen)

attractor weight:apnn

FA =

Influences: movement – attractor model


Pure attractor weight compared to pure metric integration


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new measurement: attractor weight and metric integration combined into attractor integration:

MDA

AmeanMD

meanIntA

1)1(

)(

)1

(αα −+=



alpha curves mixing metric integration and attractor weight

Influences: movement – attractor weight

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Influences: movement patterns and attractors

movement flows in the mpipks follow the configuration of the building as well as the distributed attractors all over the building→ “potential field of probabilistic co-presence and encounter”

(Hillier/Burdett/Peponis/Penn 1989: 248)→ what is going on in the building partly determined by architects (spatial layout – configuration), partly by organisation (e.g. decision where to put printers), partly by individual people (e.g. choice of paths, usage patterns, frequency of getting a coffee, etc.)


Conclusion

architecture and spatial layout provide and constitute a setting

may influence everyday work of theoretical physicists

works on various levels: perception and atmosphere

clustering of networks

movement and encounter

influence, direct and change behaviours through spatial suggestions

always possible to resist suggestions

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Bonus Track: How do people at the mpipks see their organisation?

Interviews: „If you could change three things here, what would that be?“

rules & procedures

no smoking inside (3)

stricter selection of scientists (2)

more organisational flexibility (2)

better knowledge management (1)

more support for partners (1)

people

more research discussions, exchange of ideas (3)

more permanent staff (1)

more interaction & social activities (1)

more engagement from all staff (1)

technical aspects

air condition (7)

better insulation of walls (2)

structure of space

more space (bigger offices) (3)

more private spaces for resear-chers, no over-occupancy (2)

more clustering of groups, shorter

ways (1)

design

get rid of open desks in 1D (1)

bigger windows in kitchen (1)

canteen

better food (5)

bigger, nicer space (2)

sports facilities

football ground or swimming pool (4)

faster computing (1)

ORGANISATIONARCHITECTUREFACILITIES


Bonus Track: How do people at the mpipks see their organisation?

Voices from the mpipks

“I am here for nearly X years now and every day I love coming to work.“

“When I see how everything works here, I am always a bit proud and enthusiastic.“

“I think that things are running very smoothly here, it’s a good place to be and the output is very good. But the good is not necessarily the best.”

„The most important thing is, this is a place with lots of visitors coming, so if you are staying here for one year, you can be sure of the numbers of smart, great scientists to come, like Nobel prize winners and so on. One year is enough to meet everyone because everyone wants to come here, so this is really a nice place.“

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Comments? Feedback? Any questions?

[email protected]

Dipl.-Ing. Kerstin Sailer

Technische Universität Dresden

Lehrstuhl Industriebau

Helmholtz Straße 10

01069 Dresden

phone: +49 351 463 32211

fax: +49 351 463 33209

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How Spatial Layout and Architecture Influence …martina/JamSession/architecture...5 How spatial layout and architecture influence everyday work of theoretical physicists Kerstin Sailer,