Significant Social Space: Connecting Circulation in Atrium Design

This thesis examines visual and physical connectivity in multi-level public atrium spaces in modern public buildings, and seeks out common factors and key design principles behind their design. Enhanced physical and visual connectivity in multi-storey public buildings can contribute appreciably to the social significance of interior public spaces. At present, connectivity is typically assessed in the design stages of buildings using two-dimensional spatial analysis theories of syntax. This thesis investigates how threedimensional spatial analysis tools can be applied to the assessment of connectivity during the design of multilevel public atrium spaces, to provide a more accurate reflection of connectivity under built conditions. The thesis focuses on atria in public buildings such as museums, investigates prominent features and factors in their design, examines three examples of atrium buildings as case studies, and asks the question: how can multi-level atrium spaces be analysed for connectivity?