A pattern language

The shape of a building has a great effect on the relative degrees of privacy and overcrowding in it, and this in turn has a critical effect on people’s comfort and well being.

There is widespread evidence to show that overcrowding in small dwellings causes psychological and social damage. (For example, Wiliam C. Loring, “Housing Characteristics and Social Disorganization,” Social Problems, January 1956; Chombart de Lauwe, Famille et Habitation, Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, 1959; Bernard Lander, Towards an Understanding of Juvenile Delinquency, New York: Columbia University Press, 1954.) Everyone seems to be on top of everyone else. Everything seems to be too near everything else. Privacy for individuals or couples is almost impossible.

It would be simple to solve these problems by providing more space—but space is expensive, and it is usually impossible to buy more than a certain very limited amount of it. So the question is: For a given fixed area, which shafe will create the greatest feeling of sfaciousness?

There is a mathematical answer to this question.

The feeling of overcrowding is largely created by the mean point-to-point distances inside a building. In a small house these distances are small—as a result it is not possible to walk far inside the house nor to get away from annoying disturbances; and it is hard to get away from noise sources, even when they are in other rooms.

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Therefore:

Wherever possible, work toward the evolution of independent regions in the world; each with a population between 2 and io million; each with its own natural and geographic boundaries; each with its own economy; each one autonomous and self-governing; each with a seat in a world government, without the intervening power of larger states or countries.

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Within each region encourage the population to distribute itself as widely as possible across the region—the distribution of towns (2). . . .

BUILDINGS

To reduce this effect the building should have a shape for which the mean point-to-point distance is high. (For any given shape, we may compute the mean or average distance between two randomly chosen points within the shape). The mean point-to-point distance is low in compact shapes like circles and squares, and high in those distended shapes like long thin rectangles, and branched shapes, and tall narrow towers. These shapes increase the separation between places inside the building and therefore increase the relative privacy which people are able to get within a given area.

Buildings 'which increase the distance between -points. . .

Of course, in practice there are limits on the long-thinness of a building. If it is too long and thin, the cost of walls becomes prohibitive, the cost of heating is too high, and the plan is not useful. But this is still no reason to settle only for box-like forms.

A small building can actually be much narrower than people imagine. It can certainly be much narrower than the 25 foot width proposed in wings of light (107). We have seen successful buildings as narrow as 12 feet wide—indeed, Richard Neutra’s own house in Los Angeles is even less.

109 LONG thin house

And a long thin house can also be a tower, or a pair of towers, connected at ground level. Towers, like floors can be much narrower than people realize. A building which is 12 feet square, and three stories high, with an exterior stair, makes a wonderful house. The rooms are so far apart, psychologically, that you feel as if you are in a mansion.

A Russian tower.

Therefore:

Placing the main entrance (or main entrances) is perhaps the single most important step you take during the evolution of a building plan.

The position of main entrances controls the layout of the building. It controls movement to and from the building, and all the other decisions about layout flow from this decision. When the entrances are placed correctly, the layout of the building unfolds naturally and simply; when the entrances are badly placed, the rest of the building never seems quite right. It is therefore vital that the position of the main entrance (or entrances) be made early and correctly.

The functional problem which guides the placing of main entrances is simple. The entrance must be flaced in such a way that feofle who affroach the bidding see the entrance or some hint of where the entrance is, as soon as they see the building itself. This makes it possible for them to orient their movements toward the entrance as soon as they start moving toward the building, without having to change direction or change their plan of how they will approach the building.

The functional problem is rather obvious, but it is hard to overestimate the contribution it makes to a good building. We have had the experience over and again, that until this question is settled and an appropriate position chosen, a project is at a stalemate. And conversely, once the main entrances have been located and they can be felt to be in the right position, then other decisions begin to come naturally. This is true for single

houses, house clusters, small public buildings, large complexes of public buildings. Apparently, the pattern is basic, no matter the scale of the building.

Let us look into the functional question in more detail. Everyone finds it annoying to search around a building, or a precinct of buildings, looking for the proper entrance. When you know just where the entrance is, you don’t have to bother thinking about it. It’s automatic—you walk in, thinking about whatever’s on your mind, looking at whatever catches your eye—you are not forced to pay attention to the environment simply to get around. Yet the entrances to many buildings are hard to find; they are not “automatic” in this sense.

There are two steps to solving the problem. First, the main entrances must be placed correctly. Second, they must be shaped so they are clearly visible.

i. Position

Consciously or unconsciously, a person walking works out his path some distance ahead, so as to take the shortest path. (See Tyrus Porter, A Sltidy of Path Choosing Behavior, thesis, University of California, Berkeley, 1964.). If the entrance is not visible when the building itself becomes visible, he cannot work out his path. To be able to work out his path, he must be able to see the entrance early, as soon as he sees the building.

And for other reasons too, the entrance needs to be the first thing that you come to. If you have to walk a long distance along the building before you can enter, the chances arc high that you will have to turn back after entering, and walk back in the direction you came from. This is not only annoying, but you may even begin to wonder whether you are going the right way and whether you haven’t perhaps even missed the proper entrance. It is hard to pin this down numerically, but we suggest a threshold of some 50 feet. No one is bothered by a detour of 50 feet; if it gets much longer, it begins to be annoying.

Therefore, the first step in placing the entrances is to consider the main lines of approach to the site. Locate entrances so that, once the building(s) come into view, the entrance, too, comes into view; and the path toward the entrance is not more than 50 feet along the building.

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Entrance 'position.

2. Shape

A person approaching a building needs to see the entrance clearly. Yet many of the people approaching the building are walking along the front of the building and parallel to it. Their angle of approach is acute. From this angle, many entrances are hardly visible. An entrance will be visible from an acute angled approach if:

a. The entrance sticks out beyond the building line.

b. The building is higher around the entrance, and this height is visible along the approach.

And of course, the relative color of the entrance, the light and shade immediately around it, the presence of mouldings and ornaments, may all play a part too. But above all, it is important that the entrance be strongly differentiated from its immediate surroundings.

Therefore:

Place the main entrance of the building at a point where it can be seen immediately from the main avenues of approach and give it a bold, visible shape which stands out in front of the building.

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If possible, make the entrance one of a family of similar entrances, so that they all stand out as visibly as possible within the street or building complex—family of entrances (102); build that part of the entrance which sticks out, as a room, large enough to be a pleasant, light, and beautiful place—entrance room (130) and bring the path between the street and this entrance room through a series of transitions of light and level and view— entrance transition (112). Make sure that the entrance has the proper relationship to parking—shielded parking (97), CAR CONNECTION ( I I 3) . . .