109

Long Thin House

Opening context:
Wings of Light

Conflict

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.

Resolution

In small buildings, don’t cluster all the rooms together around each other; instead string out the rooms one after another, so that distance between each room is as great as it can be. You can do this horizontally — so that the plan becomes a thin, long rectangle; or you can do it vertically — so that the building becomes a tall narrow tower. In either case, the building can be suprisingly narrow and still work — 8, 10, and 12 feet are all quite possible.

Closing context:
Positive Outdoor Space, Intimacy Gradient, Cascade of Roofs, Common Areas at the Heart