An areal openness model (AOM) for quantifying the "openness" of floor plans

Purpose: This paper aims to describe and demonstrate a quantitative areal openness model (AOM) for measuring the openness of floor plans. Creation of the model was motivated by the widely reported but rarely quantified link between openness and adaptability. Design/methodology/approach: The model calculates values for three indicators: openness score (OS), weighted OS (WOS) and openness potential (OP). OS measures the absence of obstructions (walls, chases, columns) that separate areas in a floor plan. WOS measures the number of obstructions while also accounting for the difficulty of removing them. OP measures the potential of a floor plan to become more open. Indicators were calculated for three demolished case study buildings and for three adapted buildings. The case study buildings were selected because openness – or lack thereof – contributed to the owners' decisions to demolish or adapt. Findings: Openness indicators were consistent with the real-world outcomes (adaptation or demolition) of the case study buildings. This encouraging result suggests that the proposed model is a reasonable approach for comparing the openness of floor plans and evaluating them for possible adaptation or demolition. Originality/value: The AOM is presented as a tool for facility managers to evaluate inventories of existing buildings, designers to compare alternative plan layouts and researchers to measure openness of case studies. It is intended to be sufficiently complex as to produce meaningful results, relatively simple to apply and readily modifiable to suit different situations. The model is the first to calculate floor plan openness within the context of adaptability.