Computational BIM design approach supporting Spatial Analysis: the case of healthcare facilities

Architectural planning and spaces organisation are primary aspects of the design of a building. Architects are constantly looking for solutions that seek to combine increasingly high-performance aesthetic and functional factors according to specific purposes of use. On the other hand, the building process has resulted from some logic that shapes the built environment, such as urban morphology, climate conditions, economic context. The interaction of specialist disciplines and among stakeholders often leads to changing the original idea of the configuration. Methodologies and tools are needed to verify that the initial requirements are met according to the social patterns. The relationship between spaces, functions, and social activities is crucial for built environment management, particularly relevant in healthcare. From the Space Syntax science-based, human-focused approach, this paper presents a methodological framework and toolkit to exploit the potential of Building Information Modelling within this field. Parametric models are used both to implement data and to automatize the evaluation of indicators based on the level of interaction and depth of spaces. The objective is to establish a database and a shared language to correlate spatial analysis with other disciplines. The proposed method can be adopted for an expeditious evaluation of the current state of the buildings, thus becoming an iterative assessment procedure of design solutions and re-functionalisation projects.