Ask an Architect
Patterns of Place: What Helps Build the Places We Love?
What is it about certain spaces that makes them feel so great? Let's explore "patterns of place" – design features that help form the places we love. From location, to entry sequence, to passive systems, materials, quality of light, and more, these patterns help make that crucial switch from house to home.
June 2, 2016
You may identify with your city, your neighborhood, or your house – even the place you work. There's something about the place you call home that makes it yours and makes you love it. Whether you're finding your place, creating it over time, or living your dream, there are patterns you're instinctively applying that are surprisingly common to amazing spaces. They're the patterns of place, and they help to build the places we love.
There are many reasons why your location makes your home great – they reliably center around access to your community. Walkable neighborhoods create a sense of place beyond the home, knitting blocks together and creating bonds between neighbors. Knowing and appreciating the people around you creates a social connection that reinforces your sense of place, and creates strong roots. Your home and your favorite places can be a reflection of this attitude.
The way your home is sited on the land has a large influence on how you experience it. The way that it touches the ground can easily be the most important move a building makes, and there are a few decisions that can have huge impacts. The intersection between your place and the ground is defined by, and easily improved by, the choices of vegetation and hardscape. Going to high ground will promote good drainage and avoid increased maintenance, but also helps provide a heightened sense of security, and increases quality of light and air.
The entry sequence and experience of coming home should be welcoming and enticing. Coming home is a restorative and soothing place to transition from public to private, allowing you to crash at the end of a long day. Your home should embrace you from the outside, give you an opportunity to shed your armor, and transform into a comforting environment.
Your experience of home is a series of interactions with space and materials. When you settle into your place, the sensations that make you want to stay are comfortable qualities: a touch of leather, or a warm wood. A masonry hearth, with its warm stones, has historically been the ultimate go-to. Whether it's a fine rug, a refined wall finish, or a soft pillow, your sense of place is heightened by excellent materials.
Quality of light makes a good place great; there are infinite ways to approach it and make it better. This goes for both natural light and artificial light. One of the simplest ways to dramatically improve a space (and probably the least expensive) is to install dimmer switches. Lighting technology has advanced to the point where you can create subtle, comforting, and dramatic effects while saving energy, and your bill. Access to natural light can be even more important though, especially in the Pacific Northwest. Some of the best ways to do this: open to the south, obtain light from multiple directions, and use skylights. They can make a huge difference.
Most people appreciate a long distance view. There's nothing like a long view to relax your eyes and your mind. Having a window or two that look off into the distance, especially if they focus on something pleasing, can take a space from good to exceptional. In case you haven't noticed, there are plenty of amazing things to look at around here.
The volume and rhythm of a place, like a well-composed piece of music, with highs and lows, create a nuanced appreciation of the different functions and experiences of your place. Variety builds upon itself, one space leading to the anticipation of another. Simple ways to create positive rhythm and harmony in a place are: engaging the roof form, using the ceiling to define space and volume, and creating intimate and intentional space with niches and custom built-ins.
One last pattern is passive systems: stuff that happens, or doesn't, automatically. This one is a little subtler, but you notice it instinctively when it's not working properly. Your place should work well, even if it doesn't have all the trappings of a high-tech modern lifestyle, which, by the way, can and do add depth and complexity to a good home. Exposure on two sides, or more, allows cross ventilation and connection to the surroundings. Well-constructed buildings naturally provide a feeling of protection and warmth without anything mechanical or electrical. Passive systems work without any extra effort, and they help a place stand the test of time.
Your place can be, and should be, a reflection of the world you want to live in. There's nothing particularly difficult in applying any of these patterns to your daily space. We see them constantly around us, and in the right proportions, they dramatically improve our environments and allow us to have a greater appreciation of the places we love.
