science

Spatial design

Spatial design is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Spatial design rather than just read about it. In short: Spatial design is a relatively new conceptual design discipline that crosses the boundaries of traditional design specialisms such as architecture, landscape architecture, landscape design, interior design, urban design and service design as well as certain areas of public art. It focuses upon the flow of people between multiple areas of interior and exterior environments and delivers value and understanding in spac…

Key takeaways

Spatial design belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Spatial design to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Spatial design from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Spatial design is a relatively new conceptual design discipline that crosses the boundaries of traditional design specialisms such as architecture, landscape architecture, landscape design, interior design, urban design and service design as well as certain areas of public art. It focuses upon the flow of people between multiple areas of interior and exterior environments and delivers value and understanding in spaces across both the private and public realm. The emphasis of the discipline is upon working with people and space, particularly looking at the notion of place, also place identity and genius loci. As such, the discipline covers a variety of scales, from detailed design of interior spaces to large regional strategies, and is largely found within the UK. As a discipline, it uses the language of architecture, interior design and landscape architecture to communicate design intentions. Spatial design uses research methods often found in disciplines such as product and service design, identified by IDEO, as well as social and historical methods that help with the identification and determination of place. As a growth area of design, the number of spatial design practitioners works within existing disciplines or as independent consultants. The subject is studied at a number of institutions within the UK, Denmark, Switzerland, and Italy though, as with any new field of study, these courses differ in their scope and ambition. Ultimately it can be seen as "the glue that joins traditional built environment disciplines together with the people they are designed to serve". During the COVID-19 pandemic, spatial design became an important aspect of reshaping collective use of urban space and thinking about access and egress.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Spatial design

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Spatial design claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Spatial design before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Spatial design ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Spatial design

In research: Spatial design appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Spatial design in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Spatial design is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Environmental design, Interior design, Landscape architecture, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Spatial design outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Spatial design in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Spatial design means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Spatial design out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Spatial design in simple terms?

Why does Spatial design matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Spatial design?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Spatial design.