🏡 List of 253 Patterns — Clayton Dorge

Patterns 95 – 204 = Buildings

What is under the control of individuals or small groups, capable of building entire patterns at once. These patterns give actual 3D shape to buildings.

95. Building Complex – A building comes alive when it is made up of smaller parts which work cohesively together. A large monolithic building is impersonal and undifferentiated, which prevents the people inside from being personal with one another.

96. Number of Stories – Buildings should allow at least 50% of the ground area of any constructed spaces to remain open. Don’t let the height of buildings vary too much. Adjacent buildings should especially be roughly the same height.

97. Shielded Parking – Place large parking lots and garages behind some kind of natural wall so that cars and the structure cannot be seen from outside. No one wants to walk by or see a dead building, which is what a parking structure becomes.

98. Circulation Realms – Large buildings should be laid out to pass through different areas (realms), each marked by gateways that get smaller and smaller. Realms should be easily named, so it’s easy to direct someone where to go by describing the realm and gateway to seek.

99. Main Building – “A complex of buildings with no center is like a man without a head.” Decide which building is most essential and create it with a central position and higher roof to designate its importance.

100. Pedestrian Street – People “rubbing shoulders” in public forms an important social glue. Build streets with:

1. No cars, except for deliveries and essential cars.

2. Buildings along the street where most circulation happens outside (few indoors staircases, lobbies, etc.)

101. Building Thoroughfare – Colder climates or high densities may force public circulation indoors. In these cases, build an indoor “street” that is nearly continuous with the outdoor street and acts as a shortcut. Line the edges with windows, places to sit, and food stands.

102. Family of Entrances – A complex of multiple buildings can be confusing to someone arriving. Make the entrances for each individual building bold and easy to see, ideally marked by a similar kind of sign or doorway.

103. Small Parking Lots – Large parking lots take over the landscape and create unpleasant places in and around them. Even when parked cars take up less than 9% of the land in a community, they should be spaced out in order to avoid a vast parking lot.

104. Site Repair – Building new spaces is a chance to improve upon less pleasant areas. We want to build only in the best areas, this is wrong. Areas that are already healthy and beautiful should be left alone. Our energy for building should be used in areas that need it most.

105. South Facing Outdoors – Open spaces get used when they are sunny. Place buildings to the north of their outdoor spaces and avoid large shade areas that separate them from the sunny area. In desert climates, people will use spaces that have a balance of sun and shade.

106. Positive Outdoor Space – People feel more comfortable in a space which is partly enclosed, especially in smaller outdoor spaces such as gardens, parks, and plazas. This is seen when a person looks for a place to sit outdoors, they look for a tree or natural covering.

107. Wings of Light – The presence of natural light is essential when deciding their shape. The way to achieve light on two sides is by building long and narrow wings. Wings should correspond with the social groups inside the building.

108. Connected Buildings – In a society where buildings lean against each other physically, people are forced to confront their neighbors, solve issues that arise, and learn to healthily adapt to others. Related to people – we don’t stand alone and exist independently.

109. Long Thin House – The shape of a building effects privacy and overcrowding which determines how comfortable people feel. For small buildings, string the rooms out so the distance between them is as far as it can be, either horizontally or vertically.

110. Main Entrance – Placement of the main entrance is critical to controls the layout and evolution of the building. People approaching from main avenues should see the entrance as soon as they see the building itself. It should contain a bold, visible shape that stands out.

111. Half-Hidden Garden – Gardens too close to the street feel too exposed and won’t be used. If a garden is fully in the back of a house it’s too far away will feel too isolated. A garden needs some privacy while keeping some connection to access the street and the entrance.

112. Entrance Transition – The experience of entering a building influences the way you feel inside. If there is no transition, it will feel abrupt and as if there is no arrival. Transitions can be changes of light, sound, direction, surface, level, or a gateway to pass under.

113. Car Connection – The shortest route from a parked car into the house should be the main entrance. Make the space connecting the house and car a positive space – supporting the experience of coming and going. The car space should also be taken seriously and made beautiful.

114. Hierarchy of Open Space – Outdoors, people will try to find a spot where their backs are protected and they can look out toward a larger opening. People feel comfortable in these spaces. A natural back should be in the smaller space. Here’s an example from a private garden

115. Courtyards Which Live – Place courtyards so have some view out of them to a larger open space. Ideally they are partly open to the activity that surrounds the building, yet still private. Multiple doors from the building should open into to it, creating natural paths through.

116. Cascade of Roofs – The largest and most significant gathering places should have the highest ceilings and be in the middle of the whole building because they are the social centers of activities. Smaller groups, individual rooms, and alcoves naturally fall around the edges.

117. Sheltering Roof – When a roof is hidden, its presence isn’t felt around the building and people will lack a fundamental sense of shelter. Make a vault of the roof so that its entire surface is visible, bringing the eaves down low where people pause, such as entrances.

118. Roof Garden – Make at least one small roof garden in every building to take advantage of the sun and open air. They can be used for planting, sitting, and sleeping outside. It should be possible to walk directly out to the roof garden directly from some lived-in part.

119. Arcades – Arcades are covered walkways at the edge of buildings – partly inside and outside. Use arcades to connect buildings and allow people to walk from place to place under the cover. They create friendly invitations for people to interact with buildings.

120. Paths and Goals – Paths must be compatible with walking. Ideally they are straight or gently curving between goals. Ordinary things outdoors can all be goals – trees, fountains, entrances, seats, statues, swings, or outdoor rooms.

121. Path Shape – Make a bulge in the middle of a path with narrower ends. This will create a place for people to stay in to meander and not just pass through.

122. Building Fronts – Creating buildings to be set-back from the street has discouraged social interaction in the streets. Instead, place buildings right up to paths and streets and let them take on uneven angles to accommodate the shape of the street.

123. Pedestrian Density – The number of square feet per person gives a general estimate of the liveliness of a space. These exact numbers are subjective but at 150 sq. ft./person, an area is lively. If more than 500 sq. ft./person, an area begins to feel dead.

124. Activity Pockets – People naturally gather around a square’s edge. If the edge fails, then the space doesn’t become lively. Fill the edges with pockets of activity. These can include arcades, seats, sitting walls, columns, trellises, outdoor rooms, cafes, food stands, etc.

125. Stair Seats – When there is action in a place, the most inviting spots are high enough to provide a vantage point, yet low enough to feel in the action. Make them accessible from below so that people may gather, sit, and watch what’s going on.

126. Something Roughly in the Middle – A public space should contain something to stand in its middle, otherwise it will likely remain empty. A fountains, tree, statue, clocktower, or bandstand all work. Place it where the paths come together, not exactly in the middle.

127. Intimacy Gradient – Lay out the space in a building to create a sequence that corresponds to the degrees of privateness. Begin with the entrance and the most public parts, eventually leading to the most private domains.

128. Indoor Sunlight – The most important rooms in a building should be placed along the south edge. A house is bright and cheerful when the right rooms are facing south. Sun shining into a room has one of the greatest effects on its feeling. *written for the Northern Hemisphere

129. Common Areas at the Heart – All social groups’ survival depends on constant informal contact between its members. Place a single common area for members to frequently pass by, tangentially. They can easily pop in to see what’s going on if they want or keep going past.

130. Entrance Room – Create a room to enter through, both inside and outside of the building. This space is used for basic arrival and goodbye tendencies. People want to see who’s at the door, provide shelter, space to take off shoes and coats, and somewhere to place things.

131. The Flow Through Rooms – When possible, use public and common rooms for movement and gathering rather than corridors or passages. Allow for circulation from room to room to pass in wide, circular loops with views of fires and windows.

132. Short Passages – Create passages to be like rooms, with carpets or wood floors, furniture, book shelves, and windows. The ideal case is a one-side hall, lined with windows on its open side.

133. Staircase as a Stage – Place the main stair in a central, visible position. Create the staircase so that it’s one with a room. Include wide stairs at the bottom to encourage stair seating.

134. Zen View – Place the windows and areas to see a beautiful view so people glimpse the view as they pass it. Avoid making it the main view from where people gather. The more open and obvious the view is, the sooner it fades. It becomes part of the building, like wallpaper.

135. Tapestry of Light and Dark – Buildings need alternating areas of light and dark. People are phototropic and attracted to the light. Use light to guide them to important places (seats, entrances, stairs, passages, etc.).

136. Couple’s Realm – Part of a house should be distinct from children’s areas and allow parents to be together in private. When children can run everywhere in the house, they tend to dominate it all. Their role as parents rather than a couple permeates the entire relationship.

137. Children’s Realm – Children need a space to release their large amounts of energy. The space should be a continuum of areas inside and outside of the house to allow their variety of play. Keep the couple’s realm and private spaces entirely separate from these play areas.

138. Sleeping to the East – Position the rooms where people sleep so they wake up with the sun and light. Beyond following our natural rhythm, people want to look out and see what kind of day its going to be. A good morning view can provide this information well.

139. Farmhouse Kitchen – Integrate kitchen work and family activity in one big room. Make the area bright, comfortable, and large enough to hold a big table, long counters, and stove/sink around the edge. Cooking and eating are enjoyable and ways we “take care of ourselves.”

140. Private Terrace on the Street – Common rooms in the house should open out to a space that looks into the street, rather directly to the street. Raise the terrace slightly above the street and include a low wall.

141. A Room of One’s Own – Everyone needs opportunities to be alone if they will be close to others. Give each family member a room of their own, including at minimum a desk, alcove, and shelves. Place these at the far end of the intimacy gradient (Pattern 127).

142. Sequence of Sitting Spaces – Corners and alcoves in buildings are all potential sitting spaces. Build them with various degrees of intimacy. The most formal ones to be enclosed entirely and the least formal to be in the corners without any screen or barrier blocking them.

143. Bed Cluster – Children need a private place, many young children feel isolated if they sleep alone. Place the children’s bed in alcoves they can retreat to around a common play space. Avoid walls or doors, instead use curtains for the alcoves if needed.

144. Bathing Room – Bathing needs to be a positive and energizing pleasure. Place the bathing room, toilets, and showers in a single tiled area in the house. Build it beside the couple’s realm (136) and if possible give it access to outside (tiny balcony or walled garden).

145. Bulk Storage – Where people live and work, there is some need for storing items that aren’t used everyday but also not ready to throw out. Plan for this area from the beginning and place it where it costs less to build.

146. Flexible Office Space – Office workers need space that is both well-adapted to specific work arrangements and truly flexible.

147. Communal Eating – Without communal eating, human groups cannot hold together. Make communal meals regular so they become important and comfortable events with room for guests.

148. Small Work Groups – Split up work groups into small, spatially dedicated teams. Each person on the team should at least have partial view of the other members. Create a way for them to easily share common areas such as the entrance, kitchen, equipment, and bathrooms.

149. Reception Welcomes You – A person should feel at ease when entering a building. In the entrance, arrange things to welcome guests – soft chairs, food, coffee, fireplace. Place the receptionist to one side, so they can get up and walk toward the people and greet them.

150. A Place to Wait – The process of waiting creates uncertainties and you can’t enjoy the time because it’s unpredictable; you don’t know when your turn will come. Create positive waiting spaces. Fuse it with activities (reading, games, coffee) or a way to enjoy silence.

151. Small Meeting Rooms – The larger meetings are, the less people will get out of them. Make the majority of meetings spaces small, for 12 people or less. Ideally, in the most public areas scattered around the workspace.

153. Rooms to Rent – The need for space in a building grows and shrinks with time. Create part of the building to be rentable if unused. It will need a private entrance and direct access to a bathroom that will not require passing through the main areas.

154. Teenager’s Cottage – A teenager’s space in the home needs to reflect their desired independence, otherwise they will feel locked in conflict with the rest of the family. Keep it attached to the house but ideally far away from the master bedroom and with a private entrance

155. Old Age Cottage – Old people face a conflict. Life pushes them to be independent (kids move away, neighborhood changes, friends and loved ones die) while they naturally become more dependent on others. Provide a small cottage nearby for them, placed at ground level.

156. Settled Work – Settled work is the activity that becomes an extension of the person. This kind of work that develops gradually over a lifetime. Provide space for a workplace that can grow slowly to accommodate a weekend hobby at first then eventually a complete workshop.

157. Home Workshop – Make a place in the home where work beyond hobbies can be done. A home workshop becomes more important, the more decentralized work is. Allow it to be partially seen from the street so people can see in and interact.

158. Open Stairs – Apartments on the upper floors of a building need direct stair access to the street. This keeps the spaces connected to the world around, open, and free-flowing. Keep the stairs roofed or unroofed depending on climate.

159. Light on Two Sides of Every Room – People will gravitate to rooms with natural light on two sides. Light from two sides limits the glare on others’ faces, allowing people to understand each other better through clear facial expressions and hand motions.

160. Building Edge – Create building edges to have a use on their own. Make them places that invite people to stop, sit, lean, or cover from the weather.

161. Sunny Place – Develop the area immediately outside of a building on the south side into a place for people to bask in it. Create an important room, place to work, or to play here so that it draws people towards using it regularly. Try to shelter the area from the wind.

162. North Face – The North sides of buildings will be dark and gloomy for most of the year. On these sides, make a cascade so that the little sun on that side is not blocked even more. Use these sides for things that don’t need the sun, such as car shelter or storage.

163. Outdoor Room – Include a partly closed outdoor room for outdoor needs not met by a garden. Build a space for people to eat, sit in formal clothes, drink, talk, and be still, yet outside. Use different elements (trellis, foliage on walls, columns, etc) to form a room.

164. Street Windows – Buildings along busy streets should have windows to look out onto the street. Ideal street windows are on the second and third floors. Higher up makes them “a view” and at ground level they may have to be covered up for privacy.

165. Opening to the Street – Seeing action encourages more action. Open up a space on the street side and include some part of the activity on the far side of the pedestrian path. People passing by will walk through it and see inside.

166. Gallery Surround – Build balconies and terraces at the edges of buildings. These will help buildings to feel intertwined with both the people walking out onto them and those looking at them from outside.

167. Six-Foot Balcony – Balconies and porches less than six feet deep are hardly used. Ideally make them half-enclosed and recessed into the building slightly too.

168. Connection to the Earth – Deliberately place paths, terraces, and steps around the edge of a building to connect it to the natural landscape surrounding it. Make the boundary of building and earth ambiguous.

169. Terraced Slope – Use terraces along contour lines to control erosion and soil health. Sloping land creates uneven rainwater flow and is affected by erosion more which can kill the soil. Buildings can cross terrace lines.

170. Fruit Trees – Plant small orchards of fruit trees on common land along paths and streets where groups may gather. Preserving them is minimal work if tackled as a community and the trees tend to produce more than one house can consume.

171. Tree Places – Plant trees to form enclosures, avenues, squares, and groves. When trees form places that respond to nearby buildings they become areas that people will use. This will allow the trees to receive the care they need from people and grow naturally.

172. Garden Growing Wild – Grow bushes, flowers, and trees as they would occur in nature. Don’t include barriers, bare dirt, formal flower beds, and polished paths. Keep a quality of wilderness, tamed, still wild and in harmony with the nearby buildings and people who move in it

173. Garden Wall – Protect the interior of a quiet garden from the sounds of passing traffic. The smaller the garden space is the more definite the enclosure should be.

174. Trellised Walk – Building a trellis can protect a path or provide more intimacy. Use these to shape outdoor spaces by placing them on either side of a garden.

175. Greenhouse – The easiest way to harness solar energy is the most obvious, to trap heat in a greenhouse and use it for growing flowers and vegetables. Build a greenhouse on your home so that it’s a room and a part of the garden; accessible from inside and outside.

176. Garden Seat – Choose a place in the garden to be a quiet place with a comfortable seat and direct sun. This allows a person to be in touch with nature free of distractions. Pick the place that will provide an intense feeling of solitude.

177. Vegetable Garden – Every family growing vegetables is a fundamental part of human life. We need to recognize this as more than a hobby for enthusiasts. Place the garden in a central, sunny place to its household. Fence it in and have a small space for storing tools nearby.

178. Compost – Our current processes for getting rid of waste rob the land around our buildings from the nutrients they need. Place toilets over a dry composting chamber where organic garbage is also collected. Eventually, use the combined material for fertilizer.

179. Alcoves – For a group to gather together well, there must also be the chance for individuals to be alone. Create small places at the edges of common rooms; large enough for a desk or for 2 people to sit, chat, and play.

180. Window Place – Create at least one window place In any room where you enjoy spending time during the day. Everyone loves window seats, bay windows, big windows with low sills and comfortable chairs nearby. These “places” are necessary to feel comfortable and at ease.

181. The Fire – There is no substitute for fire. It provides a natural focus and allows people to think, talk, and dream. Place it so that even adjacent rooms can glimpse the fire.

182. Eating Atmosphere – Some rooms allow people to eat leisurely and comfortably while others force quickness and a desire to leave Place a heavy table in the center of an eating space, large enough for a group. Place light directly above and enclose the space with walls.

183. Workplace Enclosure – People work effectively when their workspace finds the balance between too enclosed and too exposed.

184. Cooking Layout – Cooking is uncomfortable if the kitchen counter is either too short or too long. Here are 3 critically functional relationships to consider.

185. Sitting Circle – Seating arrangements can become animated and alive or they can be sterile and avoided. Place seats in a loose circle formation with paths and activities around so people naturally are pulled to them when they want to sit. Include a few too many seats.

186. Communal Sleeping – Arrange a sleeping area for children and adults to sleep in the same place at least as an occasional alternative. Near the fireplace with guests or special occasions would be an example.

187. Marriage Bed – Build this as an intimate anchor point for a couple’s life. Make it slightly enclosed, low ceiling or canopy, room shaped to the bed, with many windows. For it to have the right feeling, do not buy one until the couple has been through some hard times.

188. Bed Alcove – Place beds in alcoves off rooms with other non-sleeping functions. The bed will become a private haven. Bedrooms make no sense. The bed makes the spaces around it awkward, pushing dressing, working, sitting, etc. all to the corners and side spaces left.

189. Dressing Rooms – Dressing, undressing, and storing clothes are self-contained and need a space which has no other function. Make a space between their bed and bathroom that is for dressing. It should be large enough to stretch your arms and move around.

190. Ceiling Height Variety – Various heights throughout buildings allow intimacy to be felt relatively b/w spaces. Make ceilings high in rooms for larger gatherings (10-12 ft), lower in rooms for small gatherings (7-9 ft), and very low in alcoves for 1 or 2 people 6-7 ft).

191. The Shape of Indoor Space – Make indoor spaces rough rectangles, with roughly straight walls and nearly symmetrical vaulted ceilings. Perfectly square rooms only make sense if people are too preoccupied with systems and rigid desires.

192. Windows Overlooking Life – People need to refresh themselves by looking at a world different than the one they are in. Have windows to look out to activities in the streets or quiet gardens. Rooms without a view can act like a prison if a person has to stay in them.

193. Half-Open Wall – Rooms that are too closed prevent a natural flow and transition. If they are too open, necessary differentiation between spaces is missing. Find the right balance between extremes using columns, half-open walls, indoor windows, sliding doors, etc.

194. Interior Windows – Windows can be used to connect indoor spaces. Put in windows between rooms which tend to be unusually dark causing them to be dead and rarely used.

195. Staircase Volume – Staircases should make a complete structural bay, two stories high. They may be L-shaped, U-shaped, or C-shaped. They may be narrow and steep or wide and shallow.

196. Corner Doors – A room will never allow people to be comfortable if movement through the room destroys what’s happening there. Only in large rooms do doors make sense in the middle of a wall. Most rooms should have the doors near the corners.

197. Thick Walls – Deep walls can contain shelves, cabinets, special lights, built in seats, nooks, window reveals, etc. Homes become personal when each family can leave its mark on the walls. Build walls with structural material allowing them to be carved, yet still strong.

198. Closets Between Rooms – Storage is usually an afterthought. Place closets on interior walls where they can help with acoustic insulation between rooms. They can help frame doors and passages creating transition spaces. Do not place them on exterior walls!

199. Sunny Counter – A kitchen needs the sun more than other rooms. Place the counter near big windows so sunlight can flood in during the morning and afternoon. Dark kitchens are depressing.

200. Open Shelves – Shelves that are too deep waste valuable space. Make them shallow enough so that things can be placed one deep, nothing hiding behind anything else.

201. Waist-High Shelf – Build waist-high shelves around the main rooms. These act as a place to set down and store objects which are handled during daily traffic. Make them long, 9-15 inches deep, with shelves or storage underneath.

202. Built-in Seats – Built-in seats make a space feel comfortable and luxurious. To make sure they will work, test the area before building them. Place an arm chair in the intended area for a few days and change it’s position until you find what you enjoy best.

203. Child Caves – Build small caves for children in wherever they play (house, neighborhood, school, etc.). Tuck them in natural spaces left over like under stairs. Keep the ceiling height low and the entrance tiny.

204. Secret Place – People want to live with a secret place in their homes; a place used in special ways, and only revealed at special times. Make a small place in the home that is nearly impossible to discover unless you’ve been shown where it is.