Pattern 129
Common Areas at the Heart
Context Intimacy Gradient127 · Indoor Sunlight128 · Cascade of Roofs116
Problem
When shared rooms are pushed to the edge or tucked into a corner of a building, people must make a special trip to reach them — and over time hardly anyone bothers. Chance encounters arise only where paths already cross.
Solution
Put the shared rooms right in the middle of the building, exactly where the paths between the private areas already pass, so that people come together almost by accident rather than needing a special reason to.
Usage Farmhouse Kitchen139 · Communal Eating147 · The Fire181 · Light on Two Sides of Every Room159 · The Shape of Indoor Space191 · Sequence of Sitting Spaces142 · Outdoor Room163 · Arcades119 · The Flow Through Rooms131 · Short Passages132