UNDERSTANDING THE SPATIAL CONFIGURATION OF HOUSING LAYOUTS THROUGH SPACE SYNTAX-FOCUSED ON CASES FROM PAKISTAN

Our lifestyle has its effects on the design and layout of house which also in turn affects the housing market. The function of the space is one important factor affecting interactions. In the last few decades, an important change has occurred in the layout of houses in terms of designation of spaces for specific functions as seen, in Pakistan. This study analyzed 15 different cases of house layouts from three major cities of Pakistan. Space syntax was used to quantify the layouts of these houses using DepthmapX software. The measure of integration, space-link ratios and difference factors were calculated for each case in the sample. The average integration and difference factor of the sample range from 0.62-1.02 and 0.52-0.81 with average value of 0.88 and 0.73 respectively. The results showed that underneath the apparent different layouts, there resides a consistent spatial pattern in the order of spatial arrangements of different layouts. The spatial pattern showed Living room as the most integrated space of the layout this found in 14 out 16 cases. The second most integrated space was kitchen reported in 9 out of 15 cases. The third integrated place was bedroom 9 out of 15cases. The results of this study may provide insights into the future development of housing layouts based on the existing pattern of use. Keywords: House Layouts; House Design in Pakistan; Space Syntax; Spatial Configuration