Abstract:
With the rapid urbanization process in cities today, the interrelationship between the built
environment and city life has come into a disequilibrium. It is convinced that the influence of
building street interfaces fosters public activities on streets. This research is based on two case
studies selected according to the land use pattern in the central zone of Colombo city. Data
collection methods include documentation of physical and qualitative characteristics of building
street interfaces, observations, and activity mapping on building street interfaces. The study
investigates the physical and qualitative characteristics of the building interface which imposes a
significant effect on achieving the optimal conditions for staying and moving activities. It further
evaluates four types of neutralized activity pattern zones; Dominant staying, Dominant moving,
conflictedly active, and rarely active zones. The subjective physical and qualitative characteristics
were examined in terms of Physical comfort, Enclosure, Human scale, Complexity, Territoriality,
Permeability, and the activity-based characteristics were identified concerning Spatial
tranquilness, Intensiveness of activity, specification of participants, affected for certain activity
behaviors on different building street interfaces.
Conclusively, the study elaborates that the neutralization patterns of public activity patterns in
different building street interfaces depends on the secondary activity patterns and the influence
of different physical qualitative characteristics of space. Moreover, the study outlines necessary
recommendations for delineating the building street interface as a public space in an urban
setting.
