Analysis of the impact of the flexible internal architecture on the students’ personal space at schools

Abstract

Educational spaces educate future people; outline the attitudes and behavior of societies, so the school environment should improve the social behavior of students. A factor such as the personal space at the school can affect students’ behavior. Varied behavior patterns, the arrival of new technologies, the need for the multipurpose spaces lead the training spaces to flexibility. The purpose of this study was to find the relationship between social behaviors and flexible architecture. First, through content analysis of the text, the effect of changing the layout of the couches on the size of the students’ personal space was studied. Then, through field method and direct observation and intervention in the environment using the pre-test and post-test design, the influence of flexible architecture on the students’ behavioral responses, with the help of physical environment variable of »layout change« were studied. Findings showed that the change in the space of the class through the change in the layout and developing the sociable environment could influence the size of the students’ personal space, i.e., the change in the layout of the couches could change the size of the students’ personal space and as a result could change the amount of the relationship and interaction of students with each other. The angle in the placement of students, their distance from teacher and other students, and being observable by the teacher could influence the personal space that has surrounded them like bubbles. So, through the change in the layout, the space of the class and the personal space of the students could be changed.

Keywords

• flexible architecture
• personal space
• class layout