assessment of spaciousness in buildings via computer simulations

317 Pages·2015·18.76 MB·English

ASSESSMENT OF SPACIOUSNESS IN BUILDINGS
VIA COMPUTER SIMULATIONS: CASE STUDIES ON CLASSROOMS
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES
OF
MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
BY
GÜLER ÖZYILDIRAN
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
ARCHITECTURE
FEBRUARY 2015

Approval of the thesis:

ASSESSMENT OF SPACIOUSNESS IN BUILDINGS
VIA COMPUTER SIMULATIONS: CASE STUDIES ON CLASSROOMS

Submitted by GÜLER ÖZYILDIRAN in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture Department, Middle East
Technical University by,

Prof. Dr. Gülbin Dural Ünver _____________________
Dean, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences

Prof. Dr. T. Elvan Altan _____________________
Head of Department, Architecture

Prof. Dr. Vacit İmamoğlu _____________________
Supervisor, Architecture Dept., METU

Examining Committee Members:

Prof. Dr. Mualla Erkılıç _____________________
Architecture Dept., METU

Prof. Dr. Vacit İmamoğlu _____________________
Architecture Dept., METU

Prof. Dr. Gülay Hasdoğan _____________________
Industrial Design Dept., METU

Prof. Dr. Selahattin ÖNÜR _____________________
Industrial Design Dept., Karabük Univ.

Assist. Prof. Dr. Naz A. G. Z. Börekçi _____________________
Industrial Design Dept., METU

Date: 13th February 2015
I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and
presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare
that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced
all material and results that are not original to this work.

Name, Last name : Güler Özyıldıran
Signature :

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ABSTRACT

ASSESSMENT OF SPACIOUSNESS IN BUILDINGS
VIA COMPUTER SIMULATIONS: CASE STUDIES ON CLASSROOMS

Özyıldıran, Güler
Ph.D., Department of Architecture
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Vacit İmamoğlu
February 2015, 287 pages

The interaction between people and built environment has been examined in the field
of architectural psychology since the 1960s. In this field, “spaciousness” has been
one of the most significant concepts which have been frequently reported in the
semantic differential scales, such as Spaciousness-Crampedness Scale (S-C-S)
developed by İmamoğlu (1975) and used in several experimental studies via real
rooms and scale models in 1970s and 1980s. However, there are still crucial
architectural dimensions which have not been studied yet. The main aim of this
thesis is to assess spaciousness factors in buildings via S-C-S, and within this
framework, the second aim is to test the reliability of computer simulations as current
research tools in architectural psychology research.
This thesis is composed of a preliminary study and two groups of experimental
studies (each group consisting of four consecutive experiments). In literature survey,
the last 45 years of architectural psychology was reviewed, and as a developing
research tool, computer simulations were examined with their current and potential

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features. The first group of experiments was conducted through computer
simulations to develop a procedure for the second group, which aimed to test the
effects of permanent components of rooms on spaciousness. Ceiling height, types of
ceiling and floor (flat and stepped), and plan geometry (rectangular and trapezoidal)
were assumed to have an effect on spaciousness (appeal, planning, and space
freedom). 350 participants, composed of both students and staff at METU,
participated in the experiments. Sample spaces were selected from METU
classrooms, and their detailed computer simulations and derivatives were used as
stimuli. The results of the experiments indicated that higher ceiling made the room
more spacious. The types of ceiling did not affect spaciousness in general. Flat
ceiling indicated higher levels of space freedom compared to stepped ceiling.
Classrooms with stepped floors were evaluated as better planned than those with flat
floors. Plan geometry did not affect participants’ evaluations of spaciousness
significantly. Results of the experiments demonstrate that the effects of some
components of rooms on spaciousness can be identified via computer simulations.

Keywords: spaciousness, spaciousness-crampedness scale (S-C-S), computer
simulation, architectural psychology, classroom design.

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ÖZ

BİNALARDA FERAHLIĞIN BİLGİSAYAR SİMULASYONLARIYLA
İNCELENMESİ: DERSLİKLER ÖRNEĞİ

Özyıldıran, Güler
Doktora, Mimarlık Bölümü
Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Vacit İmamoğlu
Şubat 2015, 287 sayfa

İnsan ve yapılı çevre etkileşimi, mimarlık psikolojisi alanında 1960’lardan beri
incelenmektedir. Bu alanda “ferahlık”, anlamsal farklılık ölçeğinde sıklıkla
kullanılan en önemli kavramlardandır. Bu ölçeklerden biri, 1975 yılında İmamoğlu
tarafından geliştirilen Genel Uzam Değerlendirme (GUD) ölçeğidir, 1970’lerde ve
1980’lerde gerçek oda ve maketler üzerinde yapılan birçok çalışmada kullanılmıştır.
Ancak ferahlıkla ilgili bazı mimari boyutlar henüz incelenmemiştir. Bu çalışmanın
amacı, binalarda ferahlık faktörlerinin GUD ölçeği ile incelenmesi ve bu kapsamda,
mimarlık psikolojisi alanında yeni yaygınlaşan bilgisayar simülasyonlarının
güvenirliğinin test edilmesidir.
Bu çalışma, bir ön çalışma ve iki grup deneysel çalışmadan oluşmaktadır. Literatür
taramasında, mimarlık psikolojisinin son 45 yılı ve gelişmekte olan araştırma aracı
olarak bilgisayar simülasyonlarının mevcut ve potansiyel özellikleri incelenmiştir.
Birinci grup deneyler, ikinci grup deneyler için en uygun yöntemi geliştirmek üzere
yapılmıştır. İkinci grup deneylerde ise, odaların kalıcı öğelerinin ferahlık üzerine

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etkilerini test etmek amaçlanmıştır. Tavan yüksekliğinin, tavanın ve zeminin yüzey
formlarının (düz ve kademeli) ve plan geometrisinin (dikdörtgen ve yamuk) ferahlık
(çekicilik, planlama, özgürlük) üzerinde etkisi olduğu varsayılmıştır. Deneylere,
ODTÜ öğrencileri ve personelinden toplam 350 kişi gönüllü olarak katılmıştır.
Örnek mekanlar ODTÜ dersliklerinden seçilmiş, bu dersliklerin detaylı bilgisayar
simülasyonları ve türevleri kullanılmıştır. Simülasyonlarla yapılan deneylerde,
yüksek tavan mekanı daha ferah göstermiştir. Tavanın yüzey formlarının ise ferahlık
üzerine genel bir etkisi olmamıştır. Düz tavan, kademeli tavana göre mekanı daha
özgür göstermiştir. Basamaklı zemini olan sınıflar, düz zeminlilere göre daha iyi
planlanmış olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Plan geometrisi ile ilgili değerlendirmelerde
herhangi bir anlamlı etki tespit edilmemiştir. Deney sonuçları, mekanların bazı
öğelerinin ferahlık üzerinde etkisinin bilgisayar simülasyonlarıyla tespit
edilebildiğini göstermektedir.

Anahtar kelimeler: ferahlık, genel uzam değerlendirme ölçeği (GUD), bilgisayar
simülasyonu, mimarlık psikolojisi, sınıf tasarımı.

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To My Family

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Vacit İmamoğlu for
his valuable guidance, criticism and advice throughout this study. I would also thank
the members of Examining Committe; Prof. Dr. Mualla Erkılıç and Prof. Dr. Gülay
Hasdoğan, Prof. Dr. Selahattin Önür and Assist. Prof. Dr. Naz A. G. Z. Börekçi for
their valuable suggestions and comments.
I would also like to thank Prof. Dr. Olcay İmamoğlu, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emel Aközer,
Prof. Dr. Ömür Bakırer, Prof. Dr. Ayşıl Yavuz and Prof. Dr. Yıldırım Yavuz for
sharing their opinion and advice; Prof. Dr. Ayşen Savaş and Inst. Dr. Haluk Zelef for
their courses about “architectural representation” and “graphic communication”
which inspired my thesis subject; Inst. Mustafa Hasdoğan and Inst. Fatih Yavuz for
their suggestions about computer programs; the Photogrammetry Laboratory of
METU Department of Architecture for material support for documenting the selected
classrooms; my friends for their assistance to prepare the settings of the experiments;
and 350 students and staff members of METU who voluntarily participated in the
experiments. My thanks are also due to METU SFL Academic Writing Center, its
coordinators Inst. Deniz Saydam and Inst. Cahide Çavuşoğlu, and other tutors for
their guidance in the writing process.
Finally, I express my deepest gratitute to my dear parents Nuray and Fahrettin
Özyıldıran, and my brother Mustafa Özyıldıran for their love, encouragement and
support during the processes of this thesis and during my life.
This study was supported by Faculty Development Program (ÖYP-DPT) Grant No:
BAP-08-11-DPT.2011K121010.

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