Abstract Body

In high-density urban environments, integrated mixed-use buildings are increasingly taking the form of vertical extensions of urban spaces on the ground, where circulation, land uses, open spaces, ecological networks, and human activities are distributed both laterally and vertically in a dynamic relationship. The complex interactions of extensions of landscape spaces into the vertical dimension with those on the ground level, their impact on patterns of human movement in the city, their contribution to a more liveable high-density urban environment, and their scalability are currently not well understood.

A Complexity Science-based approach to the analysis of landscape spaces can be extended to these large inter-connected multi-occupancy vertically integrated buildings to systematically determine and evaluate the underlying patterns of spatial and social networks that unfold as space and users interact. The emergent patterns of movement and space use can inform the future design of vertically integrated urban space and its aesthetic, social, cultural, and economic performances.

This study presents the results of a post-occupancy case study of a vertically integrated mixed-use building in Singapore. This paper argues that studying high-density vertically integrated buildings using user-generated data can contribute to a better understanding of the socio-spatial qualities of the built environment. The advent of affordable and efficient technologies like low-energy Bluetooth (BLE) devices combined with smartphone sensors allow for the tracking and localising of building users within complex multi-level integrated spatial configurations. An analysis of the resulting real-world data produces evidence of how (1) integrated public and common spaces in the building are used, (2) how they influence user behaviour and movement patterns, and (3) how they impact social interactions and user activities over time.

The paper further explores the influence of the spatial layout of landscape spaces on user behaviour and movement patterns and the impact on social interactions and user activities over time. The paper finally discusses this research methodology's potential to evaluate the vertically distributed green open spaces' performance and inform future planning and design of effective integrated landscape spaces in high-density urban environments.