Reinterpreting Sustainable Architecture: What Does It Mean Syntactically?

Abstract

How can sustainable architecture be described spatially? Is there any way of looking at sustainable architecture from a spatial perspective? This paper aims to explore whether a syntactical viewpoint would be an appropriate focus, and attempts to address how a configurational approach contributes to our understanding of sustainable architecture. To explore the possible theoretical framework in understanding sustainable architecture from a spatial perspective, three buildings (namely, Olympic House, SK Chemicals R&D, and the Epson Innovation Center), which are recognized as the most sustainable buildings by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency, are selected and analyzed by using visibility graph analysis, a useful analytical tool in space syntax. The in-depth theoretical studies and literature reviews have suggested that the atria in sustainable architecture play a substantial role in maximizing energy efficiency, minimizing negative impacts on the environment, and generating spatial integration. Thus, it is concluded that sustainable architecture is economical in technological, environmental, and spatial ways as well.