Title A Comparative Study on the Spatial Configuration of Outpatient Departments in Tertiary Hospitals of Daegu-Gyeongbuk, South Korea and Shandong, China
Authors 모홍위(Mou, Hong-yu) ; 이근택(Lee, Keun-Taek)
DOI https://doi.org/10.5659/JAIK.2026.42.4.87
Page pp.87-98
ISSN 2733-6247
Keywords Space Syntax; Outpatient Department; Circulation Spaces; Clinical Spaces; Tertiary Hospital
Abstract This study quantitatively compares the spatial configurations of Outpatient Departments(OPDs) in tertiary hospitals in Daegu, Korea and Shandong, China, utilizing Space Syntax(Convex and Visibility Graph Analysis). Utilizing DepthmapX, five metrics?including Global Integration and Intelligibility?were analyzed to evaluate circulation efficiency and way-finding performance. The results highlight significant structural differences: Chinese hospitals generally exhibit higher intelligibility (R2>0.8) and superior visual integration, attributed to large-scale, hall-centered circulation systems. Conversely, Korean hospitals feature high-density layouts with significantly lower intelligibility (e.g., 0.21 at CKU), which may increase cognitive load for users despite high local connectivity. The study concludes that Korean hospital designs should prioritize enhanced visual continuity (VGA) to reduce spatial complexity, while Chinese hospitals should focus on functional clustering to better manage crowd density.