Vertical transformation: The dynamics of the ladder in the vertical distribution between social cohesion and social privacy. "The houses of the Misrata region"

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the dialectical relationship between vertical expansion in housing and the rules of social privacy and cohesion, with a particular focus on the crucial role of the staircase in providing vertical insulation and spatial proximity in detached houses in Misrata. It seeks to uncover the mechanisms that society utilizes to balance these opposing dimensions through this architectural element. The research employed a mixed-methods methodology. The quantitative aspect involved analyzing 40 houses using two main techniques from Syntax Space theory: Justified Graph Analysis (JGA) to quantitatively measure spatial proximity, and Visibility Graph Analysis (VGA) to diagnose visual insulation at the house level. The qualitative aspect relied on a questionnaire to survey residents' opinions on their motivations for adopting vertical living. The results revealed that vertical expansion represents an intelligent response to urban and social transformations, where the staircase is employed not merely as a connection between floors, but as an effective mediator that creates a unique vertical dynamic. This dynamic achieves spatial convergence that fosters social cohesion on the one hand, and provides vertical separation that ensures visual and social privacy on the other. The study thus presents a new interpretive model for understanding how contemporary architecture can respond to traditional social values ​​within the context of urban transformations, offering an integrative framework applicable to similar Arab contexts.