Knowledge domains

The convention in planning and design is to separate consulting practice into sectors such as 'retail', 'commercial', 'residential' and 'healthcare'. However, the reality of delivering spatially-based, mixed-use planning and design advice means that this separation is overly simplistic.

Our clients approach us with problems concerning social, economic and environmental sustainability. The projects we work on are typically large, complex or both. We provide evidence-based planning and design solutions that span between sectors and address one or more knowledge 'domains'.

Our work in each knowledge domain is supported by top-quality academic research as well as over 20 years of international practice.

Sustainability

Successful, sustainable places rely on movement. Understanding the effects of movement on functional performance - in terms of passing trade, property value and natural surveillance - increases value and reduces risk in the development process.

From urban masterplanning to public space design, we work to deliver proposals that anticipate use patterns and deliver the social, economic and environmental expectations of stakeholders.

Accessibility

Patterns of movement and space use are fundamentally influenced by the configuration of space and by the location of activity generators and attractors. We measure levels of accessibility in existing and proposed environments.

From the design of safe street crossings to multi-modal interchanges, Space Syntax studies provide public and private agencies with robust techniques for evaluating the social, economic and environmental impact of accessibility proposals.

We co-ordinate pedestrian, cycling and vehicle strategies through observation, analysis and forecasting of movement flows. Our work helps shape and support ideas to improve accessibility for all movement modes at every scale – from the city to the street.

Social cohesion & exclusion

Our worldwide body of research has demonstrated the fundamental role of space in bringing people together or keeping them apart. The separation of car and pedestrian was once justified on the basis of convenience and road safety.

In a similar vein, land uses were zoned to concentrate functions in the belief that critical mass and clean borders were the solution. Why then are we working today in exactly the opposite direction to mix modes, mix uses and blur boundaries? The answer lies in the realisation that our previously unsophisticated methods of planning and designing places have led to greater damage than benefit.

All modes of urban space use - whether in cars or wheelchairs, on public transport, cycles or foot – use spatial networks to move through towns and cities. The way we design those networks can either enhance or inhibit the ability of people to move.

Our work shows how accessibility influences mobility and how this then has measurable effects on social, environmental and economic outcomes.

Crime & security

Our research into the effects of planning and design on urban and building safety show very strong correlations between layout and all kinds of crime.

Traditional street patterns are consistently the safest and the most 'modern' hierarchical layouts the worst. Preliminary results linking socio-economic as well as spatial data strongly indicate that rich and poor alike benefit from living in traditional streets.

Inside buildings, including hospitals and schools, we have applied similar thinking to understand and then design against the effects of poor layout on petty crime, assault and bullying.

Workplace innovation

Innovation in the workplace is often the result of informal, 'unplanned' interaction, especially between colleagues working in different parts of the same building.

Space Syntax analysis demonstrates why some buildings are more successful at this than others; how interaction can be generated in new designs; and what can be done to re-work failed layouts.

Retail space & visitor search

The physical layout of rooms, corridors and vertical connections exerts a strong influence over patterns of movement in retail environments, museums and galleries. Understanding the effects of spatial layout on visitor activity allows design proposals to be generated that facilitate access and encourage natural wayfinding.

We offer layout appraisal, investment advice, strategic design and monitoring services to the funders, owners and occupiers of complex buildings. Combining detailed observation studies with customer flow models and sales data analysis, we help to generate schemes that optimise patterns of moving, browsing and buying.

Spatial components in culture

Different cultures assemble space in different ways. Spatial layout reinforces cultural identity. Understanding quantifiable differences between the layout geometries of Western European, Middle Eastern and North American grids, for example, allows us to design for local conditions without imposing predetermined solutions.