Purpose: The study's main objective is to evaluate the morphological developments in the characteristics of the spatial configurations of the residential layouts in Kerman, Iran, in examining the impact on the level of visual privacy through the spectrum of permeability and wayfinding in space syntax analysis.Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, plan graph analysis is used to measure the syntactic properties of seven topological residential architecture plans in Kerman, Iran, built from the 1970s to 2010s. The methodology involves the development of mathematical measurements to signify permeability and simulation of visibility graph analysis (VGA) to indicate wayfinding.Findings: The findings reveal the residential layouts of Iranian houses tend to be less integrated over decades of design development from the 1970s to 2010s. Reduction in spatial integration corresponds to increase segregation allowing for enhanced visual privacy. The study underpins that, even with the constraints in the scale of the house and reduction in the number of nodes, as evident in the design of the modern residential layout, the efficient level of visual privacy is still achievable with regards to the standards demanded by the local culture.Originality/value: The study examines the development in residential spatial configuration and building scale on visual privacy through a proposed methodology based on the level of permeability and wayfinding measured as a combined effect using the space syntax analysis and visual accessibility.

Purpose: Since the appearance of COVID-19 social distancing and staying home have been recommended repeatedly by the governments for disease prevention. As the challenge continues to remain the current study seeks to examine the factors affecting social distancing through space planning and management. More specifically the current study aims to examine the appropriateness of the spatial organization and space configuration of a clubhouse with a linear plan layout in the mitigation of the spread of infections due to serious pandemic COVID-19.Design/methodology/approach: For an enhanced understanding of the impact of spatial arrangements of public spaces plan on the effective implementation of social distancing this study has used the space syntax analysis method. The MPSP clubhouse building in Penang, Malaysia was selected as the case study. The level of permeability and wayfinding were determined in the building plan and were illustrated using photoshop software to depict the interrelation between the indoor spaces and building circulation. Graphs of the depth of space were used to analyze the level of permeability and wayfinding to illustrate the possibility of social distancing in the plan.Findings: The result of the study shows the significant role of proper plan layout design on social distancing. While clear and direct wayfinding can positively be associated with more effective social distancing, the inefficient design of user access, inappropriate locations of multiple entry and exit and indefinite directions of users' inside buildings can impose slight limitations. The average level of permeability might suggest ineffective spatial arrangement, ignoring the needs of spatial segregation. The study further found that the linear plan layouts with proper zoning and effective management strategies can be considered a proper layout to facilitate social distancing and the spread of COVID-19.Originality/value: The current study is unique in terms of examination of the spatial configuration of linear public spaces plan layout for possible temporary adaptability to curb disease spread during the unexpected advent of a pandemic. Based on researchers' best of knowledge it is the first time that the impact of recreational space design on social distancing has been examined. The study also originally sheds light on the fact that the commonly used guideline for the social distancing of 1–2 m between 2 persons, in reality, is practically inadequate given the nature of the sports activities.

Studying the thermal environment in classrooms is essential due to its impact on students' health, teaching, learning, and productivity. In the Nigerian context, there is a general lack of thermal comfort studies, and none specifically relate to secondary school settings. This study aims to investigate students' perceptions of the indoor thermal environment and to determine the optimum temperature in naturally ventilated classrooms in the tropical savanna climate. Field investigations were conducted in free-running classrooms in Abuja to evaluate occupants' thermal comfort and perceptions. The study involves 901 pupils from 21 classrooms. Data were obtained through physical measurements of thermal comfort variables and a questionnaire survey on occupants' perceptions of the indoor thermal environment. The objective assessment indicated that 86% of the classrooms were inconsistent with the ASHRAE standard–55. Although 60% of the pupils were satisfied with their thermal environment, 78% preferred a cooler than neutral temperature. The result revealed a comfort temperature of 28.9 oC. The results extend the literature on thermal comfort in classrooms to the tropical savannah climate of the west African sub-region, which has received little attention in earlier research. The findings provide foundation data for developing a comfort standard for classrooms in the zone.

With the rising significance of visual marketing, differences in how tourists from various age groups visually engage with tourism promotional materials remain insufficiently studied. This study recruited 48 participants and used a quasi-experimental design combined with eye-tracking technology to examine visual attention, scan path patterns, and their relationship to reading performance among different age groups. Independent t-tests, correlation analyses, and Lag Sequential Analysis were conducted to compare the differences between the two groups. Results indicated that elder participants had significantly higher fixation counts and longer fixation durations in text regions than younger participants, as well as higher perceived novelty scores. A positive correlation emerged between text fixation duration and perceived novelty. Additionally, elder participants showed greater interaction between text and images, while younger participants exhibited a more linear reading pattern. This study offers empirical insights to optimize tourism promotional materials, highlighting the need for age-specific communication strategies.

The study examines the energy efficiency performance of hotel façades in relation based on the annual cooling energy consumption simulation. In achieving the objective, two case studies of high-rise city hotels are selected within the locality of Penang, Malaysia. The case studies are selected based on the year of construction coupled with the architectural styles encompassing conventional and modern design of hotel facades. In the traditional design of hotel facades, passive design elements including proper selection of window and wall materials alongside window-to-wall ratio (WWR) are less significant. Comparatively, elements of passive design in the modern hotel facades are notable. In assessing the thermal performance of the hotel façade, a case study of the conventional and modern high-rise city hotels in Penang are selected to undergo hourly cooling load simulation of hotel guestroom using the DesignBuilder program in establishing the hotel’s energy efficiency performance. The findings revealed, the average annual cooling energy of the conventional and modern high-rise city hotel guestroom is 553 kWh/m2 and 538 kWh/m2 respectively. The study concludes the elements of passive design including WWR, window material selection, and external wall colour are crucial in determining energy efficient hotel operations.

The present study identifies issues pertaining energy efficiency of high-rise city hotels in Malaysia and aims to examine the thermal performance of high-rise hotels with different façade design configurations. Large hotels in the tropics of Malaysia are found to be energy intensive among commercial building categories. The present study proposes two case studies of high-rise city hotels in George Town, Penang, with different façade configurations to determine their capability to comply the Overall Thermal Transfer Value (OTTV) requirements set by the Malaysian Standards MS 1525;14 and the Green Building Index (GBI). Utilizing the OTTV formula as stipulated in the MS 1525:14, the OTTV of each case study was manually calculated using the identified façade design parameters. Comparative analysis of the results indicate that each of the cases garnered OTTV which exceeded the recommended value of 50 Wm^-2. General guidelines and recommendations for improvement in the hotel façade design in the tropics are also included in the discussion.