| Title |
A Study on the Spatial Structure and Communication in Research Laboratory Layout |
| Keywords |
research laboratory layout ; spatial structure ; communication ; mean distance ; embeddedness |
| Abstract |
The explosion of scientific knowledge and technology has required sophisticated skills and specialized expertise to carry out a scientific research; many recent studies show that increased use of organizational colleagues for information is strongly related to scientific and technological performance. In research laboratories, communication among scientists has been shown to be a significant determinant of technical performance and productivity of project teams. This study intends to explore the spatial structure in laboratories and its social implication in terms of the exchange of knowledge among researchers. The study unfolds in three parts. First, it discusses the issues governing laboratory layout including the importance and types of communication in research laboratories. Second, the study explores the spatial structure of two research institutions through descriptive and analytic methods, i.e. space syntax. Third, it probes into the inner structure governing the intra-group and the inter-group interaction and examines the relationship between local and global structures in terms of communication patterns. |