The Use of Multidimensional Scaling for Facilities Layout: An Application to the Design of the Space Station

Abstract

Before an optimum layout of the facilities for the proposed Space Station can be designed, it is necessary to understand the functions that will be perfomed by the Space Station crew and the relationships among those functions. Five criteria for assessing functional relationships were identified. For each of these criteria, a matrix representing the degree of association of all pairs of functions was developed. The key to making inferences about the layout of the Space Station from these matrices was the use of multidimensional scaling (MDS). Applying MDS to these matrices resulted in spatial configurations of the crew functions in which smaller distances in the MDS configuration reflected closer associations. An MDS analysis of a composite matrix formed by combining the five individual matrices resulted in two dimensions that describe the configuration: a “Private-Public” dimension and a “Group-Individual” dimension. Seven specific recommendations for Space Station layout were derived from analyses of the MDS configurations. Although we have applied these techniques to the design of the Space Station, they can be applied to the design of any facility where people live or work.