ABSTRACT

The following research is an explorative study on “Transition spaces in higher education buildings” as
a means of designing and enhancing educational buildings. To start with, transitional spaces are the
intermediate areas that acts as an in-between space. Traditionally, spaces were defined as indoor or
outdoor spaces and the presence of transitional space was not experienced so this research will be
focusing on these transitional spaces and the movement from one place to another marking these
spaces as an open space. It also focuses on identifying what defines a transitional space that enhances
the student experience in an educational environment.

Behavioral factors have become an important value, integrated with other values such as
function, affecting the built environment. New terms in research, such as environment-behavior
studies (EBS), have arisen. EBS attempts to understand the psychology of human behavior in other
than intrapsychic or person-centered terms.

Transition spaces in such types of buildings have an elastic environment. This gives the
designer some freedom to express space in a way that is not usually considered. This paper will
present an analytical approach as an attempt to identify higher-education transition space (HETS) as
an efficient behavior setting model for better utilization of these spaces.

Several samples of international HETS will be described and analyzed to make a better
understanding of these spaces to find how a non-place could be transformed and developed into
providing quality experiential values to the students and to provide designers with a developed vision
about their performance. This proposed vision can be subjected to further research to identify criteria
for assessing HETS performance.
1.0 INTRODUCTION

Transition- an in between state, in Architecture, is defined as a link or a connecting space between

two enclosed spaces. An architectural space is incomplete without transition spaces. The inclusion of
transitional and circulation spaces, in the form of corridors, atriums and stairwells, is unavoidable in
the design of most buildings. The percentage of these spaces may however vary according to the
function/ type of the building. Their functionality also varies according to the appropriate
requirements of the building or the user. (Fig.1)

Fig.1: Diagram explaining the relationship between public-private and open-closed transition spaces.
Source: Kent, 2009

Large, open spaces are increasingly being divided into defined activity zones that give students the
option to spend time in task-specific areas, such as spaces for quiet solo work, group study sessions or
socializing between lectures. Transitional spaces can help to define the boundaries between zones to
ensure what is occurring in one doesn’t impinge on another. Using careful design techniques,
walkways and communal areas in such environments can guide students to specific zones, changing
their mood and signaling movement from one place to another. In doing so, they give students choice
and control over their environment to help them make the most of their studies.
Students’ social behaviors at education buildings, their social interactions, and their gathering
areas are among the most significant issues of architectural design. Therefore, it is necessary to apply
the experience of transition spaces in educational buildings. The research paper aims to understand the
impact of transition spaces to attain maximum learning environment in educational buildings.
Transition spaces in education buildings have an elastic environment; this gives the freedom to
express space in a way that is not usually considered. A well-designed transition space in education
buildings will help to create an environment of interaction where students can interact with their peers
and their professors, thus enhancing the overall performance of such spaces. This performance can be
developed by supporting transition spaces in education buildings with a variety in functions and
activities in order to create an interactive environment that is invaluable to the educational process.
At present, the outgrowth changeover in teaching pedagogies highlights the critical needs of
changing perspectives from Teacher-Centered to Learner-centered pedagogy specifically in higher
education. The influence of learning space turned more prominent due to transformation in
pedagogical practices in education.
 As learner's learning styles, aspirations and expectations evolve, learning environment needs
to evolve with them. Consequently, there are needs in the establishment of ideal types of social or
informal learning space which promote learner-centered pedagogy.
Furthermore, learner-centered learning necessitated that a notable amount of learner's learning time is
anticipated to be spent outside-classroom (Fig. 2). This fact elucidates the demand for exploring the
transitional spaces as informal academic learning space, such as
(1) Transition between two destinations: internal corridors and entrance lobbies.
(2) Transitions between exterior and interior: courtyard and external corridors.
(3) Transitions between nature and buildings: gazebo and square are utilized in order administering
their self-directed learning activities.

Fig. 2: Typology of academic learning spaces

Source: Author

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW:

Characteristics of interior transition space have been introduced by former studies and research. In
1993, Harle' presented the roles and aspects of these spaces within a house in European villages.
Later, transition spaces have been presented as an architectural experience of transfer and been
demonstrated by Srivastava. Some researchers confined on studying certain aspects of transition
spaces as orientation Fahmy, while Pitts discussed the effect of users' behaviour on environmental
performance of such spaces. Wiechel revealed that HETS (Higher Education Transition Spaces)
should have a variety of functions and diversity of utilizations. Unfortunately, evaluating HETS
performance as a space of interacted utilizations has been ignored and neglected according to this
literature review, which was the initiative motive to tackle this area of research. Examples:
2.1 CEPT, Ahmedabad

• One of the best examples of spatial planning with interesting pathways.

• CEPT university was started in 1962 under the Ahmedabad education society and was
actively supported by Kasthurbhai Lalbhai, a leading industrialist and philanthropist.
• The school broke away from the conventional teaching courses & the concept changed from
architecture as the technical discipline to architecture as a design discipline. (Fig.3)

Fig.3: Transition spaces in CEPT, Ahmedabad

Source: The researcher

2.2 IIM, Bangalore

• The 54,000 sq mt IIM B complex, built on a 100-acre campus, is based on the design of the
town of Fatehpur Sikri, laid out by Akbar in the 16th century.
• The architect, B V Doshi, achieved this vision by linking a network of corridors, courtyards
and external spaces allowing for future extensions.
• The 'building' includes external spaces, and the links between the buildings in the Bangalore
climate permit academic exchange beyond the classrooms.
• The functional and physical attributes of its design are related to the local traditions of
pavilion-like spaces, courtyards, and ample provision for plantations.
• Access to classrooms and administrative offices is provided through the corridors.
 • The design offers students and faculty the ability to see and feel nature even when inside the
classroom. (Fig.4)

Fig.4: Transition spaces in IIM, Bangalore

Source: The researcher

2.3 (i)LEARNING ENVIRONMENT-

In recent years, the learning environment has become a focus of research and expanded the field of
academic’s inquiry within elementary, secondary and post-secondary research. The relationship
between the environment and learning consists of science education, environmental psychology,
campus ecology (Fig 3&4) and architecture. As we know, learning institutions are more nexus,
dynamic in systems that influence learners’ academic, affective, social and behavioural learning.

The achievement of students in higher education is based on several different domains such as
skills, experiences, school climate and outcomes. Indeed, the school climate is one of the key factors
of school’s impact on students learning. Basically, school climate can be widely organized into school
safety, interpersonal relationship, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures.
Beside school climate, school contact also shapes core proses of teaching and learning. Conceptual
model of the school contact, the fundamental process in school is learning and the main actors in
school are leaders (administrators and teachers who lead for learning) and teachers (especially
teachers’ professional learning) as well as students (engagement in learning and achievement).
2.4 (ii)INFORMAL LEARNING-

Informal learning is about something has been happening for many years at all educational levels,
history over the past 50 years. Moreover, informal learning spaces are not governed by the school or
externally but is under learner’s superintend, exploratory, self-directed and spontaneous. Most
researchers use the terms of formal representing the encompass of the classroom and informal
confines everything else from after-school clubs to the home. The conception of informal learning
often associated with non-formal, not-school learning. Whereby, it has certain objectives (self-
directed learning) and seeks information from sources that may include peers, mentors, or media.
Informal learning is a form of a complex web of experiences and interactions, undertaken over a wide
range of physical environments, from internal up to external which inclusive classrooms, cafes,
plazas, transitional space, enclosed learning spaces and libraries.

2.5 (iii)BEHAVIOUR SETTING CONCEPT-

Environment-behaviour studies (EBS) is a new term of research related to the systematic examination
of relationships between the environment and human behaviour and their use in the design process.
EBS offers designers and planners a different paradigm for the making of places, rather than focusing
on aesthetics and appearance as priority criteria for design. EBS emphasizes meeting the needs of
people through the correct use of behavioural design criteria; aesthetics has been always integrated
into behavioural criteria but never allowed to dominate the final design. The key concept for the
analysis of human behaviour in architecture is the behaviour setting. Based on the work of the
ecological psychologist Roger Barker (1978), a behaviour setting can be defined for architectural
purposes as a basic unit of analysis of environment-behaviour interactions, which includes the
following four characteristics, as shown in Fig. 5.

Fig.5: The four characteristics of behaviour setting

Source: Adapted by the researchers

Behaviour settings are small-scale social systems, bounded by time and place, composed of people
and physical objects (Fig. 6). Time and place boundaries are important for identifying when and
where the behaviour setting exists, but people and objects are primary components. People are the
most malleable and essential part of the behaviour setting. Without at least one person occupant, the
setting does not exist. Nevertheless, the interactions among the people and with the physical objects
make a behaviour setting what it is.

Fig.6: Four keys of behaviour setting

Source: Author

2.6 A. What is the meaning of the term transition spaces?

If we look at the definition of a transition space, it is a space of experience between the inner and the
outer worlds; an intermediate or a third space. It is understood as a ‘buffer zone’ or a passage from
inside to outside. the designs of these spaces are considered very important by building designers for
reasons of aesthetics, health and comfort, and as exit routes in the event of an emergency.
There have been several attempts to define transition space. Everyone has its own notion about this
kind of space. The paper suggests the following definition:
Transition space is a space that processes a change from one condition to another, is located in-
between outdoor and indoor environments, and acts as both buffer space and physical link, other than
being functional as circulatory routes for the building. It forms an integral part of any public building
and occupies a significant amount of the volume of the building.

2.7 B. Why higher-education buildings?

Social interaction between students and the nature of their tasks encourages informal, diverse, and
overlapping activities, affecting the design of these spaces (Fig.7). While in other public buildings, the
idea of origin destination dominates architects’ concepts.

Fig.7: Variety of activities within university buildings

Source: Author
 2.8 C. Why transition spaces in higher-education buildings?
In principle, transition spaces in this type of buildings have an elastic environment because people
tend to spend shorter periods of time in them. This allows the designer some freedom to express space
in a way that is not usually considered. Recent architects argued that using the design of transition
spaces can create a learning environment that is invaluable to the educational process.

L. Kahn stated that the corridors would be transferred into classrooms belonging to the
students themselves by making them much wider and providing them with alcoves overlooking the
gardens. They would become places where fellows meet each other and where the student discusses
the work of a professor with his fellow students. He confirms that by allowing classroom time to these
spaces instead of passage time from class to class, it would become a meeting connection and not
merely a corridor, which means a place of possibilities in self-learning. (Fig. 8).

Fig.8: Transition spaces as a corridor or a place of learning

Source: Author

2.9 ANALYSIS AND DESCRIPTION OF DIFFERENT HETS SAMPLES

This paper will examine some international higher-education buildings from various universities all
over the world. Specified transition spaces of each selected building will be described and analysed
according to the following determining factors:

• Bases of analysing process depend on the hypothesis that behaviour setting concept forms and
controls what happens within these spaces, so:
- Description of these spaces will depend on behaviour setting components.
- Choosing examples depended on a random selection because one of behaviour settings’ features is
integrity. It means that although the actors and minor props may be different or may change, the
pattern of behaviour and the critical relationships of the setting remain essentially the same.
• A variety of functions and tasks will be regarded in selecting higher-education buildings (i.e.,
lectures, workshops, etc.) and type of universities (i.e., athletic, experimental, etc.).

• Observation will focus on specified transition spaces such as passage halls, draught lobbies,
hallways, corridors (Fig. 9), and entrance halls, for the following reasons:
- It creates the dominant form of transition spaces in universities’ educational buildings.
- Richness and variety of activities occur inside these spaces more than others.

Fig.9: Analysis process for the selected higher-education buildings

Source: The researchers

3.0 METHODOLOGY:

Research by literature review (by Theories and case studies)

Stage one of the literature review is through the relevant publications of architects within Western and
Indian urban contexts as per the research topic, which focuses on Environment-behavior studies
(EBS) which is a new term of research related to the systematic examination of relationships between
the environment and human behavior and their use in the design process.
Stage two of the literature review focuses on an analysis of case studies of transitional spaces.
These case studies will provide understanding of space vocabulary and important elements which
make transition interesting from one space to another, marking each space as a destination.
Case study I – Lund University, Sweden
Case study II – University of Victoria, Canada
Case study III – Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany
4.0 LITERATURE CASE STUDIES:

TABLE 1

Case study I: Lund University, Sweden

TABLE 2
Case study II: University of Victoria, Canada

TABLE 3
Case study III: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany

TABLE 4
5.0 RESULTS OF ANALYSIS AND DESCRIPTION:

5.1 A. Utilization of Higher-Education Transition Spaces

It is well-known that space utilization is a measure of whether and how space is being used. Other
researchers defined it as ―the efficient use of the institution’s physical resources to effectively fulfil
its mission and purpose According to all mentioned above (analysis and description), a classification
of higher-education transition spaces (HETS) utilization can be concluded as in Fig. 10, Table 5&6.

Fig.10: Classification of HETS utilization

Source: The researchers

TABLE 5

TABLE 6

It is obvious that in all cases, HETS is the container of all activities that resulted from the two
utilization types, whether directly or indirectly. This means that all activities that happen there should
be classified according to the type of utilization. This can be discussed more clearly through the
subsequent results. Accordingly, HETS utilization types will be stated accurately in Table 3, in order
to perform an actual scheduling of the relationship between users’ activities and utilization types.
 TABLE 7

5.2 INTERACTIVE PERFORMANCE OF HETS:

The term interactive-as a description of performance-indicates the following issues:

A dynamic environment creates spaces that people want to experience for longer periods of time. This
encourages students to stay in the academic buildings and interact with their professors and peers.

Form and scale of the transition space must adjust the movement of people as they promenade, pause,
rest, or take in the view along the path. In determining the physical arrangement of transition spaces,
the interaction distances between groups and the tasks to be performed are very important to
successful communication and social relationships.
The overall performance of the behaviour setting is more than the sum of its parts, or in other words,
there is a synergistic effect due to the interactions among the parts.
Accordingly, the term interactive performance can be defined to conform with the research hypothesis
as follows:

Interactive performance (IP):

It is a major factor in determining the overall productivity of higher-education transition
spaces through the interaction among its components and/or the users’ behavior for
achieving specific utilizations referred to. Functional attributes and human needs are
considerable measures for this purpose.

Subsequently, the high level or value of IP can be termed as high interactive performance. It can be
defined as follows:

High interactive performance (HIP):

It is a term that describes how well the transition space operates in harmony through its
existing standing patterns of behavior to attain specific utilizations with low misfit
degrees.

Types of Interactive Performance After reviewing the definitions mentioned above, it can be
concluded that the overall interactive performance for HETS comprises two main types:
Functional and psychological (Fig. 11).
These two types are interrelated to HETS utilizations and their SPBs through specific factors.

Fig.11: Types of interactive performance

Source: Author
The overall performance of the behavior setting is more than the sum of its parts, or in other words,
there is a synergistic effect due to the interactions among the parts.
Accordingly, the term interactive performance can be defined to conform with the research hypothesis
as follows:

Interactive performance (IP):

It is a major factor in determining the overall productivity of higher-education transition
spaces through the interaction among its components and/or the users’ behaviour for
achieving specific utilizations referred to. Functional attributes and human needs are
considerable measures for this purpose.

Subsequently, the high level or value of IP can be termed as high interactive performance. It can be
defined as follows:

High interactive performance (HIP):

It is a term that describes how well the transition space operates in harmony through its
existing standing patterns of behaviour to attain specific utilizations with low misfit
degrees.

Types of Interactive Performance After reviewing the definitions mentioned above, it can be
concluded that the overall interactive performance for HETS comprises two main types:
Functional and psychological (Fig. 12).
These two types are interrelated to HETS utilizations and their SPBs through specific factors.

Fig.12: Types of interactive performance

Source: The researchers
6.0 CONCLUSION:
On studying and researching the case studies or the topic in general, I noticed that transition spaces
play a very important role in design and architecture. We can also say that transition spaces, and the
scale of it, play a very important role in human behavior, which in turn affects the planning of a city
or building. The human behavior impacts the properties of various urban spaces, the study of
interaction between people taking place in those spaces, culture and physical environments of all
scales, planning of interior spaces, regional planning, and applications to improve the quality of
education, planning and design.
One of the most important functions of transition spaces is sustainability in building design. The
proper use and placement of these spaces in a building design may increase its energy efficiency. The
design consideration should contain this space as a necessary feature and should not be considered a
constraint. When architects talk about orientation of the building, built form, site organization,
topography, landscape then they should consider Transition Spaces as one of the aspects in building
design.
Based on the research (higher-education transition spaces), analysis, and resulting issues, the
following points have been obtained and concluded:

• Users of HETS should be considered a part of their environment and never excluded from
interaction with their context.

• Providing HETS with intersected and overlapped SPB helps in considering HETS as a place of
possibilities. This gives a chance for users to sample the unique features that make their environment
different. Moreover, it helps the user feel free to either make connections or not, to move or not, to
stay or not, and to change the situation or not, according to his judgment.

• The size and shapes of HETS can be designed not only to adjust necessary activities such as users’
flow and waiting for lectures but also to create places for optional activities that require social
interactions, such as pausing, resting, or viewing.

• To develop the overall performance of such spaces, a variety in functions and activities can be
achieved in order to create an interactive environment that is invaluable to the educational process.

• Observing critical aspects and avoiding it is an important issue to have better IP values.

• For future researchers, this proposed vision for these spaces allows their interactive performance to
be assessed using an evaluating scale based on functional and psychological criteria.

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