Problem
When a public building complex cannot be completely served by outdoor pedestrian streets, a new form of indoor street, quite different from the conventional corridor, is needed.
Solution
Wherever density or climate force the main lines of circulation indoors, build them as building thoroughfares. Place each thoroughfare in a position where it functions as a shortcut, as continuous as possible with the public street outside, with wide open entrances. And line its edges with windows, places to sit, counters, and entrances which project out into the hall and expose the buildings’ main functions to the public. Make it wider than a normal corridor—at least 11 feet wide and more usually, 15 to 20 feet wide; give it a high ceiling, at least 15 feet, with a glazed roof if possible and low places along the edge. If the street is several stories high, then the walkways along the edges, on the different stories, can be used to form the low places.
Related Patterns
… if the building complex is built at high density, then at least part of the circulation cannot be made of outdoor Pedestrian Street (100) because the buildings cover too much of the land; in this case, the main spines of the Circulation Realms (98) must take the form of building thoroughfares similar to pedestrian streets, but partly or wholly inside the buildings. Building thoroughfares replace the terrible corridors which destroy so much of modern building, and help to generate the indoor layout of a Building Complex (95).
Treat the thoroughfare as much like a Pedestrian Street (100) as possible, with Open Stairs (158) coming into it from upper storys. Place entrances, reception points, and seats to form the pockets of activity under the lower ceilings at the edges Family of Entrances (102), Activity Pockets (124), Reception Welcomes You (149), Window Place (180), Ceiling Height Variety (190), and give these places strong natural light - Tapestry of Light and Dark (135). Make a connection to adjacent rooms with Interior Windows (194) and Solid Doors with Glass (237). To give the building thoroughfare the proper sense of liveliness, calculate its overall size according to Pedestrian Density (123) …
Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 492.