Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Beijing Residents’ Lifestyles: Data-Driven Insights into Apartment Interior Design

The urbanization of Beijing has precipitated a shift in the design of living spaces, with the focus transitioning from the design of new houses to existing residential properties. The concept of the living environment is inherently multifaceted, evolving in response to societal and lifestyle shifts. The employment of computer-assisted observation in acquiring lifestyle data about residential behavior circumvents the subjectivity inherent in questionnaires, thereby providing a novel approach to considering user behavior within the design process. This observational study utilizes video data collected by the Oriental Culture & Design Center, offering a comprehensive depiction of the daily lives of Beijing residents. The Noldus Observer XT program was utilized to encode and analyze the data, thereby facilitating the acquisition of insights into urban dwelling patterns in China. Over 14 days, 53,550 behavioral codes were recorded for six households, meticulously organized axially based on a 24 h cycle to capture the behavioral facts of living spaces. Through the synthesis of quantitative data analysis and qualitative observations, this study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the general lifestyle patterns exhibited by these urban residents. In addition, based on the insights gained, we propose four directions for the future design of living spaces. This comprehensive temporal dataset on living behaviors offers significant data support for design practitioners and researchers developing residential spaces. This study’s findings can optimize living environments for mental health and well-being by providing empirical data and design recommendations grounded in real-life observations.