Problem
If people cannot walk out from the building onto balconies and terraces which look toward the outdoor space around the building, then neither they themselves nor the people outside have any medium which helps them feel the building and the larger public world are intertwined.
Solution
Whenever possible, and at every story, build porches, galleries, arcades, balconies, niches, outdoor seats, awnings, trellised rooms, and the like at the edges of the buildings—especially where they open off public spaces and streets, and connect them by doors, directly to the rooms inside.
Related Patterns
… we continue to fill out the Building Edge (160). Assume that arcades have been built wherever they make sense - Arcades (119); there are still large areas within the building edge where Building Edge (160) tells you to make something positive - but so far no patterns have explained how this can be done physically. This pattern shows you how you can complete the edge. It complements Roof Garden (118) and Arcades (119) and helps to enliven the Pedestrian Street (100).
These places should be an integral part of the building territory, and contain seats, tables, furniture, places to stand and talk, places to work outside - all in the public view - Private Terrace on the Street (140), Outdoor Room (163); make the spaces deep enough to be really useful - Six-Foot Balcony (167) - with columns heavy enough to provide at least partial enclosure - Half-Open Wall (193), Column Place (226) …
Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 777.