Main Entrance

This is a summary of the 110th pattern from the “A Patter Language” book by Christopher Alexander and his team.

Placing the main entrance is perhaps the single most important step you take during the evolution of a building.

The position of the main entrance controls the layout of the building. It controls movement to and from the building, and all the other decisions about layout flow from this decision. When the entrances are placed correctly, the layout of the building unfolds naturally and simply; when the entrances are badly placed, the rest of the building never seems quiet right. It is therefore vital that the position of the main entrance be made early and correctly.

The entrance must be placed in such a way that people who approach the building see the entrance or some hint of where the entrance is, as soon as they see the building itself.

This makes it possible for them to orient their movement toward the entrance as soon as they start moving toward the building, without having to change direction or change their plan of how they will approach the building.

Until the question of entrance position is settled, the project is at a stalemate. And conversely, once the main entrance have been located and they can be felt to be in the right position, then other decisions begin to come naturally.

First, the main entrance must be placed correctly. Second, they must be shaped so they are clearly visible. Many people approaching the building are walking along the front of the building and parallel to it. Their angle of approach is acute. From this angle, many entrances are hardly visible. An entrance will be visible from an acute angled approach if:

  1. The entrance sticks out beyond the building line.
  2. The building is higher around the entrance, and this height is visible along the approach.

And of course, the relative color of the entrance, the light and shade immediately around it, the presence of mouldings and ornaments, may all play a part too. But above all, it is important that the entrance is strongly differentiated from its immediate surroundings.

Place the main entrance of the building at a point where it can be seen immediately from the main avenues of approach and give it a bold, visible shape which stands out in front of the building.