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Adjacency Matrix Decoded

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2K views3 pages

Adjacency Matrix Decoded

Uploaded by

Yaya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Adjacency Matrix Decoded

Moving from programming to schematic design is difficult. It’s about taking abstract concepts and
requirements from your client and shaping them into a usable preliminary plan. Luckily, tools exist to help
bridge the gap between program and plan. One of these tools is called The Adjacency Matrix.

In this case we use the word ‘adjacent’ to mean: “lying near, close, or contiguous; adjoining; neighboring.” In
simple terms, to be adjacent is to be near to something. In interior design an adjacency matrix is a table that
shows what spaces should and should not be near to each other on plan.

Spending the time to draw this matrix means that you no longer have to leaf through your program every time
you can’t remember if the client wants the Board Room close to the Break Room. If done correctly, all of that
information is right at your fingertips. In my experience, the adjacency matrix is not particularly useful as a
space planning tool, but is useful as a reference. You use it to easily make sure you are giving the client what
they want when you move on to space planning via bubble diagrams and block diagrams.

Reading an Adjacency Matrix.

Google search “Interior Design Adjacency Matrix” and you will find tables so complex you will shudder at the
thought of creating on yourself. For example, this matrix from my undergraduate capstone project at the
University of Wisconsin Stevens Point has a lot of good information, but can be an intimidating place to start.
Fortunately, once you know how, reading any size matrix is easy. Here we go…

All programmed spaces are listed on one side of the table. When you need to see what the adjacencies of two
spaces are, you locate the two area names and then follow their rows of boxes to where they intersect. The
box at the intersection will contain a symbol associated with different adjacency types. Most commonly I see
the following: Primary Adjacency (spaces must be directly next to each other), Secondary Adjacency (spaces
must be close to each other), and Undesired Adjacency (spaces should not be close to each other).
Obviously you can expand on this if desired, but for most projects this three tier adjacency rating is sufficient.

Now, let’s see what this actually looks like. Here is a simple matrix for a residential project:

Solid Circle = Primary Adjacency

Circle Outline = Secondary Adjacency

Horizontal Line = Undesired Adjacency

Start by looking at the space requirements for the Master Bedroom and Master Bathroom. Here is that same
table, with only those two spaces shown.
When the two programmed lines are singled out like this it’s easy to see that these spaces have a primary
adjacency rating and therefore should be close to one another on plan. Really, reading an adjacency matrix is
about filtering out the visual noise that doesn’t relate directly to the two spaces you are comparing.

Creating an Adjacency Matrix.

There is no easy way that I have found to create these damn things. Sorry!

I have been playing around with different online charting systems to see if there is one that will be super
effective. Although I didn’t manage to get any of them to work there is still a lot of great software out there, do
you have any additional suggestions?

Reference.

My favorites:

https://www.draw.io/

https://www.lucidchart.com/

https://adjacency-matrix-diagram.now.sh/

The sample matrix I started with draw.io looks like this:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx6WVEKUOdUdTEdHZ1BEV2RvbGc/view?usp=sharing

Trial and error aside I circled back around to the tried and true AutoCAD. Use CAD to draw your matrix, plot it,
and then render it by hand or in Photoshop. To make this a little easier I have made an adjacency matrix
template that you can download and manipulate to fit the needs of your projects.

Adjacency Matrix CAD Template

After the basic structure of the matrix is in place you can layer on additional information like public to private
zoning, square footage, daylight, etc. The information that can be loaded into a matrix is unlimited. And, the
more you add, the cooler your matrix looks.

Happy creating!

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