The effect of spatial configuration of the main circulation spaces in university educational buildings on social interaction.
الملخص
Social interaction is one of the basic needs of man since the beginning of his inception, as social relations have a great impact on the development of his skills and experiences. Recently, learning is increasingly being seen as a social
process, often characterised by students actively seeking discussions with their peers. University buildings are complex social organizations consisting of structural, social and functional elements. The characteristics of the physical environment affect the social environment as spaces spatial arrangement increase the chances of social interaction. As there is an increasing in the percentage of the main movement spaces area as a kind of social public spaces compared to the percentage of basic educational and administrative spaces areas in these buildings, research appears to specify the impact of their spatial features on students' activities and behaviors. In this study, the impact of the spatial configuration of the main circulation spaces on social interaction was evaluated, In order to do that, two methods were used; observation and analysis of space syntax. The study was applied to both Kalamoon and Al-Wadi private universities in Syria. Meanwhile, Social interaction activities, preferred spaces for these activities, the number of people in these activities, and their frequency are determined by observation. Then the values of the space syntax metrics for the places are determined by Syntax 2D program. Finally, the relationship between the results of the two analyses is evaluated comparatively through the SPSS program. As a result, it was realized that the characteristics of the spatial configuration of space affect social interaction. When the spatial configuration of the space is visually connected and has a large area so that the visible area is not interrupted with its surroundings, that space can easily become an appropriate social interactive space.
