10.1. Indoor-Outdoor Ambiguity

Aus Pattern Language Wiki

Within each Perimeter Building or Courtyard Building, there is a need to create an experience of spatial richness that binds the indoors to the outdoors.


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Problem-statement: Buildings should not only contain hermetically sealed “interior” spaces, but should occasionally include ambiguous spaces that are not simply “inside” or “outside”.


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Discussion: Some of the richest spaces blend interior and exterior elements, often blurring the lines between them. Spaces that appear to be exterior are discovered to be interior but quasi-exterior — like the former courtyard at La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe New Mexico, seen in the photo at the start of this pattern. The doors appear to be exterior doors, even though they connect to another interior space. Treatments in the courtyard that seem to suggest an exterior, like plants and fountains, add to the ambiguity. Similarly, exterior spaces can begin to take on the characteristics of interior spaces (see for example the pattern Outdoor Room, APL 163).


It is possible to connect these spaces even further to other indoor and outdoor spaces, further blurring the lines. Courtyard buildings often do this masterfully, as they proceed through a sequence of courtyards, some of which are truly outdoors, and some of which are more ambiguous.


The ambiguity of these places is certainly delightful, and a powerful connective experience. Nevertheless, it is important that each space be experienced as a distinct place, felt as one identifiable piece in a Place Network. The seamless flow into another place is then perceived as emotionally positive. If, on the other hand, the geometrical character (especially the nature of the boundaries) is blurred to such an extent that the spaces are not perceived as distinct places, a user is likely to feel confused, as if swimming in ambiguity. This unsettling experience occurs in many cases where, for example, the indoor-outdoor distinction is totally erased through a plate glass curtain-wall. The original A Pattern Language puts a great deal of emphasis on how to achieve this coherence successfully.


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It is difficult to say whether this space (from American Homes and Gardens magazine, 1905) is truly “outdoor” or “indoor”.


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Therefore:

Create structures that blend interior and exterior, including courtyards and solarium galleries. Use glass doors and windows to further blur the distinction between what is truly outdoor and what is quasi-outdoor. At the same time, keep each space coherent and distinct.


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Use Interior Windows and Solid Doors With Glass to blur the distinction between indoors and outdoors. Use Pools Of Light created by skylights and glazed courtyards to create indoor spaces with outdoor qualities. Use rough, typically external materials like stone and brick — Complex Materials — to further blur the distinction. …



Mehaffy, M. et al. (2020). INDOOR-OUTDOOR AMBIGUITY (pattern). In A New Pattern Language for Growing Regions. The Dalles: Sustasis Press. Available at https://pattern-language.wiki/.../Indoor-Outdoor_Ambiguity



SECTION I:

PATTERNS OF SCALE


1. REGIONAL PATTERNS

Define the large-scale spatial organization…

1.1. POLYCENTRIC REGION

1.2. BLUE-GREEN NETWORK

1.3. MOBILITY CORRIDOR

1.4. 400M THROUGH STREET NETWORK

2. URBAN PATTERNS

Establish essential urban characteristics…

2.1. WALKABLE MULTI-MOBILITY

2.2. LEVEL CITY

2.3. PUBLIC SPACE SYSTEM

2.4. BIOPHILIC URBANISM

3. STREET PATTERNS

Identify and allocate street types…

3.1. URBAN GREENWAY

3.2. MULTI-WAY BOULEVARD

3.3. AVENUE

3.4. SHARED SPACE LANE

4. NEIGHBORHOOD PATTERNS

Define neighborhood-scale elements…

4.1. STREET AS CENTER

4.2. PEDESTRIAN SANCTUARY

4.3. NEIGHBORHOOD SQUARE

4.4. NEIGHBORHOOD PARK

5. SPECIAL USE PATTERNS

Integrate unique urban elements with care…

5.1. SCHOOL CAMPUS

5.2. MARKET CENTER

5.3. INDUSTRIAL AREA

5.4. HOSPITAL

6. PUBLIC SPACE PATTERNS

Establish the character of the crucial public realm…

6.1. PLACE NETWORK

6.2. WALKABLE STREETSCAPE

6.3. MOVABLE SEATING

6.4. CAPILLARY PATHWAY

7. BLOCK AND PLOT PATTERNS

Lay out the detailed structure of property lines…

7.1. SMALL BLOCKS

7.2. PERIMETER BLOCK

7.3. SMALL PLOTS

7.4. MID-BLOCK ALLEY

8. STREETSCAPE PATTERNS

Configure the street as a welcoming place…

8.1. STREET AS ROOM

8.2. TERMINATED VISTA

8.3. STREET TREES

8.4. STREET FURNISHINGS

9. BUILDING PATTERNS

Lay out appropriate urban buildings…

9.1. PERIMETER BUILDING

9.2. ARCADE BUILDING

9.3. COURTYARD BUILDING

9.4. ROW BUILDING

10. BUILDING EDGE PATTERNS

Create interior and exterior connectivity…

10.1. INDOOR-OUTDOOR AMBIGUITY

10.2. CIRCULATION NETWORK

10.3. LAYERED ZONES

10.4. PASSAGEWAY VIEW



SECTION II:

PATTERNS OF MULTIPLE SCALE


11. GEOMETRIC PATTERNS

Build in coherent geometries at all scales…

11.1. LOCAL SYMMETRY

11.2. SMALL GROUPS OF ELEMENTS

11.3. FRACTAL PATTERN

11.4. FRAMING

12. AFFORDANCE PATTERNS

Build in user capacity to shape the environment…

12.1. HANDLES

12.2. CO-PRODUCTION

12.3. FRIENDLY SURFACES

12.4. MALLEABILITY

13. RETROFIT PATTERNS

Revitalize and improve existing urban assets …

13.1. SLUM UPGRADE

13.2. SPRAWL RETROFIT

13.3. URBAN REGENERATION

13.4. URBAN CONSOLIDATION

14. INFORMAL GROWTH PATTERNS

Accommodate “bottom-up” urban growth…

14.1. LAND TENURE

14.2. UTILITIES FIRST

14.3. DATA WITH THE PEOPLE

14.4. INCREMENTAL SELF-BUILD

15. CONSTRUCTION PATTERNS

Use the building process to enrich the result…

15.1. DESIGN-BUILD ADAPTATION

15.2. HUMAN-SCALE DETAIL

15.3. CONSTRUCTION ORNAMENT

15.4. COMPLEX MATERIALS



SECTION III:

PATTERNS OF PROCESS


16. IMPLEMENTATION TOOL PATTERNS

Use tools to achieve successful results…

16.1. FORM-BASED CODE

16.2. ENTITLEMENT STREAMLINING

16.3. NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING CENTER

16.4. COMMUNITY MOCKUP

17. PROJECT ECONOMICS PATTERNS

Create flows of money that support urban quality…

17.1. TAX-INCREMENT FINANCING

17.2. LAND VALUE CAPTURE

17.3. EXTERNALITY VALUATION

17.4. ECONOMIES OF PLACE AND DIFFERENTIATION

18. PLACE GOVERNANCE PATTERNS

Processes for making and managing places…

18.1. SUBSIDIARITY

18.2. POLYCENTRIC GOVERNANCE

18.3. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PLACE MANAGEMENT

18.4. INFORMAL STEWARDSHIP

19. AFFORDABILITY PATTERNS

Build in affordability for all incomes…

19.1. INTEGRATED AFFORDABILITY

19.2. COMMUNITY LAND TRUST

19.3. MULTI-FAMILY INFILL

19.4. SPECULATION TAX

20. NEW TECHNOLOGY PATTERNS

Integrate new systems without damaging old ones…

20.1. SMART AV SYSTEM

20.2. RESPONSIVE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY

20.3. AUGMENTED REALITY DESIGN

20.4. CITIZEN DATA