Spatial Configuration of Japanese Elementary Schools: Analyses by the Space Syntax and Evaluation by School Teachers

In this paper, we analyzed the spatial configuration of Japanese elementary schools by using the space syntax theory. First, we selected the floor plans of 76 Japanese elementary schools from an architectural journal and educational government offices and analyzed them. They were classified into five types according to the spatial connection properties of mean integration, mean connectivity, and intelligibility. Second, they were classified into five types by the order of the integration of different functional spaces. Finally, four evaluations of the students' activity and eight evaluations of educational performance were performed through a questionnaire survey of school teachers in each school. Through multivariate analysis of variance, the relation among the evaluations and the types of schools were estimated statistically. As a result, the merits and demerits of each type of elementary school were assessed.