An Empirical Study on Assessing Classroom Space Utilization Efficiency in Higher Education Institutions: Indicators, Methodological Advances, and a Comprehensive Analytical Framework—A Case Study of the Zhengxin Building at Harbin Institute of Technology

The accelerating pace of technological innovation has exacerbated the spatial misalignment between the static, supply-driven provision of educational facilities and the dynamic, demand-driven patterns of contemporary pedagogical activities. Assessing and quantifying spatial demand and the operational consumption of teaching environments pose critical challenges for facility asset management in higher education. Accordingly, rigorous investigation into the determinants of classroom spatial utilization efficiency and the formulation of evidence-based spatial optimization strategies are essential to advancing the sustainable evolution of campus infrastructure. This study takes the Zhengxin Building at Harbin Institute of Technology as a descriptive case, integrating timetable data with spatial syntax at the building scale. The scheduling data for 2943 courses in the Spring semester of 2023 was selected as the research basis. Using architectural spatial analysis tools—including space syntax theory, statistical correlation methods, and in situ observational surveys—this study extracts spatial attribute variables such as classroom area (A), seating capacity (S), floor level (F), integration (I), and space utilization efficiency metrics as primary quantitative measures. The interrelationships among these variables are examined to elucidate the principal drivers of teaching space performance. The empirical results indicate that the Overall Space Utilization Rate (OSUR) of the Zhengxin Building ranged from 20% to 50% during the study. The key findings include the following: (1) spatial utilization efficiency is positively associated with classroom scale but shows no significant relationship with integration (I); (2) after controlling for classroom type (T), per capita area index (PCAI), and integration (I), floor level (F) no longer exerts a statistically significant influence on utilization outcomes; (3) teaching spaces with higher integration and spatial entropy are more adaptable to heterogeneous instructional and extracurricular uses. The classroom type (T) directly mediates occupancy patterns and activity programming.