Spatial configuration as a contributing factor in public library recovery: evidence from visitor data and Visibility Graph Analysis

Public buildings face growing expectations to maintain usability under conditions of disruption, yet the role of spatial configuration in supporting institutional recovery remains underexplored. The COVID-19 pandemic offered an unprecedented opportunity to examine how architectural layout characteristics relate to differences in user re-engagement across public libraries. Using visitor data from 1,051 public libraries in South Korea, libraries were classified into recovery and non-recovery groups based on whether 2023 visitation returned to or exceeded pre-pandemic (2019) levels. Twenty representative libraries were selected for in-depth spatial analysis using Visibility Graph Analysis (VGA), measuring visual accessibility, spatial integration, and layout intelligibility. Recovery libraries consistently exhibited higher intelligibility (mean 0.88 vs. 0.80), greater spatial integration (mean 13.13 vs. 9.50), and superior entrance visibility (mean 45.2% vs. 28.9%) compared to non-recovery libraries. Three recurring spatial configuration patterns – centralized transparency, linear connectivity, and compact efficiency – were identified among recovery libraries across diverse scales and urban contexts. These findings suggest that spatial layout functions as a contributing factor in post-pandemic public building performance. The study provides evidence-based insights for the planning, adaptation, and evaluation of public architecture aimed at sustaining patterns of use under post-crisis conditions.