Abstract
This paper presents an overview of the current developments in people flow analysis in Buro Happold's analytical group SMART Solutions. The role of people flow analysis has become an established one, within many leading consultancy firms with their own specialist groups supporting the architects and planners in the design of buildings and urban spaces.
This paper proposes that the key development in the progression of this work is a due to a change in emphasis, away from a passive analysis task where its key role is to validate assumptions of flow and alleviate areas of high concern to using the process as a design instigator/driver. The new paradigm emerging, involves calculating people flow at the conceptual stage of a project in collaboration with the respective architectural firm, and using this information as a primary design input.
This paper describes and analyses the two objectives set out by Buro Happold's SMART group in order to improve the process of design; firstly to make it more prominent in the design environment and secondly to see if it has the potential to work as a design driver. These objectives create a design methodology defined by people flow and suggest value in innovating and conceiving of robust simple methods of improving designs.