CHAPTER 5 : CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION: MOVEMENT THROUGH SPACE

● the path of our movement can be conceived

as the perceptual thread that links the spaces
of a building, or any series of interior or
exterior spaces, together.

Since we move in Time

through a Sequence of Spaces, B. OBLIQUE
- enhances the effect of perspective on the front
we experience a space in relation to where we’ve facade and form of a building
been and where we anticipate going. - path can be redirected one or more times to
delay and prolong the sequence of the
approach,
Skylighted Concourse, Olivetti - extreme angle : entrance can project
Headquarters (Project), Milton beyond its facade to be more clearly visible
Keynes, England, 1971,
James Stirling & Michael Wilford

A. CIRCULATION ELEMENTS

1. APPROACH C. SPIRAL
- distant view - prolongs the sequence of the approach
- emphasizes the 3D form of a building as we
move around its perimeter
Approach to Notre - The building entrance might be viewed
Dame Du Haut, intermittently during the approach to clarify its
Ronchamp, position
France, 1950-1955, - or it may be hidden until the point of arrival
Le Corbusier

● we approach its entrance along a path

● 1st phase of the circulation system, during
which we are prepared to see, experience,
and use the spaces within a building

● to a building and its entrance may vary in

duration from a few paces through a
compressed space to a lengthy and circuitous
route Portals and gateways
● may be perpendicular to the primary facade of - have traditionally been means of orienting us
a building or oblique to it to the path beyond and welcoming or
guarding against our entry
● its nature may contrast with what is
confronted at its termination,
● or it may be continued on into the building's
interior sequence of spaces, obscuring the
distinction between inside and outside

DIFFERENT APPROACH

A. FRONTAL Villa Barbaro, Maser, Italy, 1560-1568, Andrea

- leads directly to the entrance of a building Palladio
along a straight, axial path.
- visual goal that terminates the approach is
clear
- it may be the entire front facade of a bldg or
an elaborated entrance within the plane

~☆notes by jbee ♡°~

Buseoksa Temple, Gyeongsangdo, Korea, A.D.
676-100

Villa Garches, Vaucresson, France, 1926-1927, Le

Corbusier

Kresge College, Santa Cruz Campus, University of

California, 1972-1974, MLTW/Moore and Turnbull

Qian Men, link between the Forbidden City to the

north and the Outer City to the south in Beijing China,
15th century

street in Siena, Italy

Catholic Church, Taos, New Mexico, 17th century

View looking east from the Propylaea

Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, 1949, Philip

Johnson

Site Plan, Town Hall at Säynätsalo, Finland,

1950-1952, Alvar Aalto

Aerial view of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece.

Dotted line indicates the path through the Propplaced
to the east end of the Parthenon.

Ramp into and through the Carpenter Center for the

Visual Arts, Harvard University. Cambridge,
.Massachusetts, 1961-1964, Le. Corbusier

Drawings of church-dominated urban spaces by Camil

Sitte that illustrate the asymmetrical, picturesque
approach to the siting of buildings. Only fragments of
the churches can be seen from various points in the Gate of Justice, Alhambra, Granada, Spain,
squares. 1338-1390

~☆notes by jbee ♡°~

Falingwater (Kaufmann House), near Ohiopyle,
Pennsylvania, 1936-1937, Frank Lloyd Wright

Edwin Cheney House, Oak Park, Illinois, 1904, Frank

Lloyd Wright

ENTRANCE CATEGORIES :
1. Flush entrance
- maintains the continuity of the surface of a
walland can be, if desired, deliberately
obscured

2. Projected entrance
- forms a transitional space, announces its
Villa Hutheesing (project), Ahmedabad, 1952, Le
function to the approach, and provides
Corbusier
overhead shelter

3. Recessed entrance
2. ENTRANCE
- provides shelter and receives a portion of
- from outside to inside
exterior space into the realm of the building

● serve as a preview of, the form of the space

being entered
● contrast with the form of the space to
reinforce its boundaries and emphasize its
character as a place
● can be centered within the frontal plane of a
building or be placed off-center to create a
condition of local symmetry about its opening

● The location determines the configuration of

the path and the pattern of the activities within
the space.
● visually reinforced by making the opening
lower, wider, or narrower than anticipated
making the entrance deep or circuitous
articulating the opening with ornamentation or
● Entering a building, a room within a building, decorative embellishment
or a defined field of exterior space, involves
the act of penetrating a vertical plane that
distinguishes one space from another and
separates "here" from there.

● passage through an implied plane established

by two pillars or an overhead beam. Piazza San Marco, Yenice. View of the sea framed by
● In situations where greater visual and spatial the Doge's Palace on the left and Scamozzis Library
continuity between two spaces is desired, on the right. The entrance to the piazza from the sea
even a change in level can establish a is marked by two granite columns, the Lion's Column
threshold and mark the passage from one (1189) and the Column of St. Theodore (1329).
place to another.

● the entrance is accommodated by an opening

in the plane of the wall The form of the
opening, however, can range from a simple
hole in the wall to an elaborate, articulated
gateway.

● establishing a real or implied plane O-torii, first gate to the Toshogu Shrine, Nikko,
perpendicular to the path of the approach Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, 1636

~☆notes by jbee ♡°~

DX CurtutcLet's HOUSE, La Plata, Argentina, 7949 , Morris Gift Shop, San Francisco, California.
Le Corbusier 1948-1949, Frank Lloyd Wright

- Elaborated openings within vertical planes

mark the entrances to these two buildings.

Von Sternberg House, Los Angeles, California, 1936,

Richard Neutra.
- A curving drive leads to an entranceway for
automobiles while the front door to the interior Merchants' National Bank. Grinnell, lowa, 1914,
of this residence is in an entry court beyond. Louis Sullivan
Portal - marks the entrance for pedestrians within a
larger opening that includes space for a carport.

Art nouveau doorway in Paris, France

St. Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, 1566-1610, Andrea

Palladio. Facade completed by Yicenzo Scamozzi.
- The entrance facade operates at two scales:
that of the building as a whole facing a public
space and another at the size of a person
entering the church. Entrance Pylons, Temple of Horus at Edfu, 257-37
B.C.
- vertical break or separation in the facade
defines the entrances to these buildings

Legislative Assembly Building. Chandigarh, Capitol

Complex of Punjab, India, 1956-1959, Le Corbusier.
- The entrance colonnade is scaled to the
public nature of the building. House for Mrs. Robert Venturi, Chestnut Hill,
Pennsylvania, 1962-1964, Venturi and Short

Katsura Imperial Villa, Kyoto, Japan, 17th century

- Whlile the fence separates, the gateway and
the stepping stones provide continuity
between the Imperial Carriage Stop and the John F. Kennedy Memorial, Dallas, Texas, 1970,
Gepparo (Moon-Wave Pavilion) beyond. Philip Johnson

Rock of Naqsh-i-Rustam, near Persepolis, Iran, 3rd Entrance to the Administration Building, Johnson
century A.D. Wax Co., Racine, Wisconsin, 1936-1939, Frank Lloyd
Wright

~☆notes by jbee ♡°~

 ● Porches, porticos, and marquees project from
the main mass of a building to provide shelter,
welcome, and announce the point of entry.

Plan Diagram

North Elevation

House in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

High Court Chandigarh, Capitol Complex of

Punjab,India, 1956, Le Corbusier
The Oriental Theater, Milwaukee. Wisconsin,
1927,Dick and Bauer

The Pantheon, Rome, A.D. 120-124.

- Entrance portico reconstructed from an earlier
temple of 25 B.C. Pavilion of the Academia, Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli, italy.
A.D. 118-125
(after a drawing by Heine Kahler)

Kneses Tifereth Israel Synagogue Port Chester

New York, 1954, Phiip Johnson St. Andrea del Quirinale, Rome, 1670, Giovanni
Bernini

Pazzi Chapel, added to the Cloister of Santa Croce,

Florence,Italy, 1429-1446, Filipo Brunlleschi
Gagarin House, Peru, Vermont,
196B,MLTW/Moore-Turnbull

● Examples of spaces recessed to receive

those entering a building.

St. Vitale, Ravenna, Italy. A.D. 526-546

A projected entry space can reorient the principal axis
of a building organization to that of the exterior spaceit
fronts

St. Andrea, Mantua, Italy 1472-1494. Leon Battista

Alberti
Pavilion of Commerce, 1908 Jubile Exhibition,
Prague, Jan Kotera

~☆notes by jbee ♡°~

East Building. National Gallery of Art, Washington,
D., 1978,L.M. Pei and Partners Santa Barbara Courthouse, California, 1929, William
Mooser.
● Steps and ramps introduce a vertical - The main entrance frames a view to the
dimension and add a temporal quality to the garden and hills beyond
act of entering a building.
3. CONFIGURATION OF THE PATH
- sequence of spaces

● linear in nature
● have a starting point

● wheeled vehicle may require a path with

smooth contours that reflect its turning radius,
Row Houses In Galena, illinois the width of the path can be tailored tightly to
its dimensions
● The intersection or crossing of paths is always
a point of decision-making for the person
approaching it.

● The continuity and scale of each path at an

intersection can help us distinguish between
major routes leading to major spaces and
Millowners' Association Building secondary paths leading to lesser spaces
Ahmedabad,India, 1954, Le Corbusier
● The form and scale of entrances and paths
should also convey the functional and
symbolic distinction between Public,
promenades, private halls, and Service
corridors.
● configuration of apathy may reinforce a spatial
organization by paralleling its pattern
● may contrast with the form of the spatial
Taliesin West, near Phoenix, Arizona, 1938,
organization and serve as a visual
Frank Lloyd Wright
counterpoint to it
● Once we are able to map out our minds the
overall configuration of the paths in a building,
our orientation within the building and our
understanding of its spatial layout will be
made clear.

1. LINEAR
- All paths are linear
- A straight path, however,can be the primary
organizing element for a series of spaces
A stele and tortoise guard the Tomb of Emperor Wan - can be curvilinear or segmented,intersect
Li (1563-1620), northwest of Beijing, China other paths, have branches, or form a loop

Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Der

el-Bahari, Thebes, 1511-1480 B.C., Senmut

Interior Doorway by Francesco Borromini

● Entrances that pierce thick walls create

Canterbury Cathedral, England, 1070-1077
transitional spaces through which one passes
in moving from one place to another.

~☆notes by jbee ♡°~

 2. RADIAL
- has linear paths extending from or
terminating at a central, Common point

Plan of Taiyu-In Precinct of the Toshogu Shrine,

Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, 1636

Karlsruhe, Germany. 1834

House in Old Westbury, New York, 1969-1971, Plans of ideal Cities, 1451-1464, Francesco di Giorgi
Richard Meier Martini

Shodhan House, Ahmedabad, Indla , 1956, Lle

Corbusier
Eastern State Penitentiary. Philadelphia, 1829, John
Haviland

Carpenter Center For The Visual Arts,

Harvard University, Cambridge Massachusetts,
1961-1007 Le Corbusier

Pope House, Salisbury.Connecticut, 1974-1976, John

M. Johansen

First Floor Plan, Hines House, Sea Ranch, California,

1966, MLTW/Moore and Turnbull
University Art Museum, University of
California-Berkeley. 1971. Mario.J. Ciampi and
Associates

3. SPIRAL
- single, continuous path that originates from a
Scarborough College, Westhill Ontario, 1964. John central point, revolves around it, and becomes
Andrews increasingly distant from it

Bookstaver House, Westminster, Vermont, 1972. Museum of Endless Growth (froject).

Peter L. Gluck Philippeville. Algeria, 1939,Le Corbusier

Haystack Mountain School of Arts and Crafts.

Museum of Western Art, Tokyo,
Deer Isle, Maine, 1960, Edward Larrabee Barnes
1957-1959. Le Corbusier

~☆notes by jbee ♡°~

 5. NETWORK
- consists of paths that connect established
points in space

Borobodur, the buddhist stupa monument bult A.D

750-850
- in the Indonesian province of central Java.
In circumambulating the monument. pilgrims passed Paris in the age of Louis XIY
walls ornamented with reliefs llustrating thelife of
Buddha and the principles of his teaching

Guggenheim Museum, New `York City. 1943-1959, Plan of Pope Sixtus V for Rome, 1585
Frank LIoyd Wright

4. GRID
- two sets of parallel paths that intersect at
regular intervals and create square or
rectangular fields of space

Yi Yuan (Garden of Contentment). Suzhou. China.

Qing Dynasty. 19th century

Typical layout for a Roman Camp.c. 1st century A.D.

Plan for Washington, D.C., 1792, Fière L'Enfant

6. COMPOSITE
Hospital Project. Venice. 1964-1966. Le Corbusier - combination of the preceding patterns
- Important points in any pattern are centers of
activity, entrances to rooms and halls, and
places for vertical circulation provided by
stairways, ramps, and elevators

- These nodes punctuate the paths of

movement through a building and provide
Priene. founded 4th century B.C. opportunities for pause, rest, and reorientation
- To avoid the creation of a disorienting maze,
a hierarchical order among the paths and
nodes of a building should be established by
differ- entiating their scale, form, length, and
placement
Plan of an ldeal City, 1451-1464, Frances di Giorgio
4. PATH-SPACE RELATIONSHIPS
Martini
edges, nodes, and terminations of the path

Manhattan, New York City

Jaipur, India, 1728

~☆notes by jbee ♡°~

Paths may be related to the spaces they link in the
following ways. They may:

Pass by Spaces
● The integrity of each space is maintained.
● Get configuration Of The path is flexible.
● Mediating spaces can be used to link the path
with the spaces

Pass through Spaces

● The path may pass through aspace
A vaulted staircase, after a drawing by William R.
axially.obliquely.or along its edge
Ware
● In cutting through a space, the path creates
patterns of rest and movement within it
● Spaces for movement form an integral part of
any building organization and occupy a
Terminate in a Space
significant amount of the volume of a building
● the location of the space establishes the path.
● used to approach and enter functionally or
● If considered merely as functional linking
symbolically important spaces
devices, then circulation paths would be
endless, corridor-like spaces

● The form and scale of a circulation space,

nowever, should accommodate the movement
of people as they promenade. pause, pause,
rest, or take in a view along a Path
Mortuary Temple of Rameses Il Medinet-Habu, 1
198 B.C.
The form of a circulation space varies according to
how:
● boundaries are defined
● form relates to the form of the spaces it links
● qualities of scale, proportion, light, and view
are articulated
● entrances open onto it
Stern House, Woodbridge, Connecticut, 1970,
● handles changes in level with stairs and
Charles Moore Associates
ramps

5. FORM OF THE CIRCULATION SPACE

- corridors, halls, galleries, stairways and rooms

Farnsworth House, Plano,illinois, 1950, Mies van der

Rohe

Palazzo Antonini, Udine, italy, 1556, Andrea Palladio

Neur Vahr Apartment Building, Bremen, Germany, A circulation space may be:
1958-1962, Alvar Aalto
Enclosed
- public gallena or private corridor that relates
to the spacesuit links though entrances in a
wall plane

Open on One Side

Eric Boissonas House II.Cap Benat. France. - balcony or gallery that provides visual and
1964.Philip.Johnson spatial continuity with the spaces it links

Open on Both Sides

- colonnaded passageway that becomes a
physical extension of the space it passes
through

~☆notes by jbee ♡°~

 - The width and height of a circulation space Jersey, 1971. MLTW
should be Stairs and stairways
proportionate with the type and amount of movement - provide for our vertical movement between
it the levels of a building or outdoor space
must handle.
- The slope of a stairway determined by the
● A distinction in scale should be established dimensions of its risers and treads, should be
between a public promenade amore proportioned to fit our body movement and
privatehall and a service corridor. capability

● A narrow, enclosed path naturally encourages - If steep, a stair can make ascent physically
forward motion tiring as well as psychologically forbidding,
● To accommodate more traffic as well as to and can make descent precarious.
create spaces for pausing, resting, or viewing, - If shallow, a stair must have treads deep
sections of a path can be widened enough to fit our stride
● The path can also be enlarged by merging
with the spaces it passes through Stairway
● Within a large space a path can be random, - should be wide enough to comfortably
without form or definition, and be determined accommodate our passage as was any
by the activities and arrangement of furnishings and equipment that must be
furnishings within the space moved up or down the steps
- width provides a visual clue to the public or
private nature of the stairway. Wide, shallow
steps can serve as an invitation, while a
namrow, steep stairway can lead to more
private places
- act of traversing up a stairway may convey
privacy, aloofness or detachment, the process
of going down can imply moving toward
Cloister, St. Maria della Pace, Rome, 1500-1504, secure, protected, or stable ground
Donato Bramante
Landings
- interrupt the run of a stair and enable it to
change direction
- provide opportunities for rest and possibilities
for access and outlook from the stairway

● Together with the pitch of a stair, the locations

of landings determine the rhythm and
choreography of our movements as we
Hallway of Okusu Residence, Todoroki, Tokyo, 1976-
ascend or descend its steps
1978,Tadao Ando

Vestibule of a Renaissance palace

Stairs
- in accommodating a change in level, can
reinforce the path of movement interrupt it
accommodate a change in its course, or
terminate it porto entering a major space

- 3-dimensional forms just as moving up or

down
- can be exploited when we treat it as
● A hall opening through a colonnade onto an sculpture, freestanding within a space or
interior space and through a series of French attached to a wall plane
doors onto an exterior courtyard - space can itself become an oversized
elaborated stairway

There are several basic ways in which to configure

the runs of a stairway.
● straight-run stair
● L-shaped stair
● U-shaped stair
● circular stair
● spiral stair

Stairway
Raised hall,Residence in Morris County, New - determines the direction of our path as we

~☆notes by jbee ♡°~

 ascend or descend its steps

- occupies can be great but its form can be

fitted into an interior in several ways
- additive form or as a volumetric solid from
which space has been carved out for
movement as well as rest

- can run along one of the edges of a room,

wrap around the space, or flats volume
- can be woven into the boundaries of a space
or be extended into a series of platforms for
seating or terraces for activity

- can rise between walls through a narrow shaft

of space to offer access to a private place or
signify unapproachability

- landings that are visible on approach invite

ascent, as do treads that sprout at the bottom
of a stairway

- can skirt an edge or wind around the

boundaries of a space
- can be expressed as a sculptural form either
attached to an edge or freestanding within a
space
- organizing element and weave together a
series of spaces at different levels of a
building or with an outdoor space

Grand Staircase, Paris Opera House,

1861-1874,Charles Garnier

Plan oblique of living room stair, House in old

Westbury, New York, 1969-1971,Richard Meier

~☆notes by jbee ♡°~