Researchers in the field of spatial psychology and environmental preference theory have tested a range of claims about the capacity of certain spatial configurations to evoke a positive sense of wellbeing in observers. In parallel, across the landscape, urban, architectural and interior design disciplines, there has been a growing acceptance that a balance of spatial characteristics—including prospect, refuge, mystery and complexity—is desirable in a natural, urban or interior environment. Yet, the evidence that the design disciplines cite for the desirability of these characteristics is often entirely qualitative and only rarely acknowledges the results from the fields of spatial psychology and environmental preference theory. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical overview of the results of quantitative research which has been undertaken into the veracity of prospect-refuge theory and closely associated aspects of environmental preference theory. This meta-analysis not only involves a review of the results, but also their broad classification to develop a more holistic picture of the field, its findings and any gaps. The purpose of this process is not, explicitly at least, to assess the believability or rigour of this past research, but rather to examine and classify the findings, both for and against prospect-refuge theory, in a way that is useful for the design disciplines. Urban and interior studies supported the significance of prospect, and were more neutral about refuge. Studies related to natural environments provided evidence for the significance of both prospect and refuge, which has been linked to comfort, but also included evidence against and a neutral finding. More specifically for designers, the results for complexity seem to confirm that a degree of complexity in interior space is preferred, but they are unclear about how much or where it should be. The results for mystery are less emphatic with the majority being neutral or contrary. The quantitative evidence for prospect-refuge theory remains inconsistent. It is especially problematic that the results which are most commonly cited in architecture relate to studies of natural environments, not interiors or urban environments. As this paper demonstrates, the results are most valid in specific venues.

The fourth industrial era, known as ‘Industry 4.0’ (I4.0), aided and abetted by the digital revolution, has attracted increasing attention among scholars and practitioners in the last decade. The adoption of I4.0 principles in Disaster Risk Management (DRM) research and associated industry practices is particularly notable, although its origins, impacts and potential are not well understood. In response to this knowledge gap, this paper conducts a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of the application and contribution of I4.0 in DRM. The systematic literature review identified 144 relevant articles and then employed descriptive and content analysis of a focused set of 70 articles published between 2011 and 2021. The results of this review trace the growing trend for adoption of I4.0 tools and techniques in disaster management, and in parallel their influence in resilient infrastructure and digital construction fields. The results are used to identify six dominant clusters of research activity: big data analytics, Internet of Things, prefabrication and modularization, robotics and cyber-physical systems. The research in each cluster is then mapped to the priorities of the Sendai framework for DRR, highlighting the ways it can support this international agenda. Finally, this paper identifies gaps within the literature and discusses possible future research directions for the combination of I4.0 and DRM.

A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander is renowned for providing simple, conveniently formatted, humanist solutions to complex design problems ranging in scale from urban planning through to interior design. This text is also believed to be the most widely read architectural treatise ever published. Despite this, there is also little acknowledgement in its popular reception that it is only one part of a trilogy of works documenting Alexander’s ‘second theory’ of architecture. Thus, while A Pattern Language is widely referenced in architectural scholarship, most of these references simply acknowledge its existence and fail to engage with its content. Furthermore, the literature that does critically engage with Alexander’s theory, challenging its ideas and assumptions, is often difficult to find, and the criticisms are diverse and complex. The intent of this paper is to facilitate a deeper understanding of these criticisms and the relationships between them. The 28 criticisms identified in past research are organised hierarchically in this paper into three tiers representing those associated with the: (i) conceptualisation, (ii) development and documentation and, (iii) implementation and outcomes of Alexander’s theory. The relationships between these criticisms are then mapped diagrammatically thereby forming the basis for thematic groupings within each hierarchical tier. This organisation reveals that only two criticisms relate to the concept of pattern languages in isolation, while the remainder arise, directly or indirectly, from Alexander’s idiosyncratic ontological and epistemological positions. The conclusion analyses the relationships between the criticisms to develop a holistic and understanding of where the problems in Alexander’s theory might lie.

Characterising and predicting socio-spatial experience has long been a key research question in space syntax research. Due to the lack of synthesised knowledge about it, this review conducts the first systematic scoping review of space syntax research on the relationships between spatial properties and experiential values. Adopting the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses” (PRISMA) framework, this review of space syntax research identifies 38 studies that examine socio-spatial experiences in architectural, medical, and urban spaces. The data arising from this systematic review are used to identify trends in this sub-field of research, including the growth of socio-spatial methods and applications in urban analytics since 2016 and key methodological approaches, characteristics, and factors in space syntax research about socio-spatial experience. The research identified using the systematic framework employs a mixture of descriptive, correlation, and regression methods to examine the dynamic effects of spatial configurations on human experiences. Arising from the results of the review, the article further identifies a collective, predictive model consisting of five syntactic predictors and three categories of experiential values. This article, finally, examines research gaps and limitations in the body of knowledge and suggests future research directions.