Space as situated analysis: Using embodied concepts to engage social dimensions

Abstract

This article correlates the physical composition of the built environment with social interactions and human relationships. The resulting framework draws on an embodied cognitive position through interdisciplinary knowledge with priority given to architectural theory and cognitive linguistics. This approach does not address idiosyncratic, phenomenological descriptions of experiences of place but the potential relationship of human bodies through situated semantics suggested by spatial composition. In this article we ask how the physical arrangement of a space can provide information for analyzing the probable social relations such as positions of hierarchy, power, and authority. We identify two theoretical models, namely latent embodied cognitive operations and space as a situated concept, which can be used to correlate physical arrangements with social meaning.