The spatial logic of office buildings’ economic benefits

A case study of Xicheng district in Beijing

Abstract

With the rapid development of the digital economy and the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years, there is a great transformation for both the quantity and the usage of offices buildings. On the one hand many shopping malls were changed to office function, but on the other hand due to the increasing number of online meeting or working at home, the future of office buildings is also suspicious. This raises an important question: what is the spatial logic of the office building’s usage? This study focused on Xicheng District in Beijing, covering an area of 50.7 square kilometres. A total of 986 office buildings in the district were selected, which included tax data for 23,720 companies from 2019 to 2022, and the average tax revenue per square meter and aggregated tax revenue within the region were used as indicators to evaluate the economic benefits generated by the buildings. The study used space syntax segment model as a tool to analysis the economic benefits of office buildings, incorporating other variables such as population density, Points of Interest (POI), and proximity to public transport. Statistical analyses were conducted at both city and block levels. The results suggested that the accessibility of the office buildings have substantial impact on their economic benefits. Furthermore, the prosperity of surrounding businesses and the provision of adequate municipal facilities also had some impacts. The findings have important implications for urban planners and administrators in enhancing building usage efficiency and improving urban spatial layouts.