Linking design configuration to maintainability-related concerns in semi-open commercial interiors: a structured spatial heuristic

Early-stage design decisions shape the operational maintainability of semi-open commercial interiors, where atrium cores, circulation spines, biophilic elements and indoor–outdoor thresholds may create overlapping maintenance, access, safety and flexibility concerns. Although facility management and design-for-maintainability research has established the relevance of design-stage decisions, these concerns are rarely translated into a spatially explicit format before operational evidence is available. This study develops a structured, literature-derived spatial heuristic and illustrates it through architectural drawings, visual representations and limited on-site confirmation of observable spatial features in a mixed-use commercial case. Four interpretive dimensions – maintenance–cleaning complexity, operational accessibility, safety–risk exposure and spatial operational flexibility – are applied to spatial triggers across the atrium/public core, circulation spine, kiosk clusters, biophilic corridors and indoor–outdoor thresholds. The worked application makes the reasoning from spatial configuration to maintainability-related concerns explicit and traceable without validating operational performance. The heuristic is a preliminary design-communication device requiring practitioner appraisal and operational testing.