5

Second time visitor:

In the previous posts (1 - 4), I have been illustrating the natural movement of an individual through a featureless room that is square in plan, has a single exit and entry, and which is about 15' x 15' in area with entries and exits that are about 5' - 8' wide. The spaces leading to the rooms and the spaces beyond the exits are thought to be completely wide and open. In fact, the rooms can be thought of as standing alone in a flat featureless expanse of space; except that for some reason an individual must travel through the space to reach their destination.

With these diagrams I have been illustrating the basic principals of movement through a small room. I have used a small room, not necessarily because they are the most illustrative of walking patterns, but instead because a small room is familiar and thus can be useful as the seed for an understanding of indiduals' complex relationship with space.

As the concepts I have been illustrating are bear the kernel of a rational and theoretical approach to our relationship to space, all of the points in the first paragraph of this post are essential to the results presented in the previous diagrams. Those points act as variables in a mathematical equation, and in this post I introduce one of the variables that I have so far not discussed, but which underlies all of the previous diagrams and which will be relevant to the future posts for the foreseeable future: The second time visitor.

The second time visitor is, for all intensive purposes, a person who enters and/ or passes through a space for the second time. The idea behind this phrase is not intended to literally mean that it applies only to individuals who are traveling through a space for the second time. It is referring to a pedestrian who is neither completely unfamiliar with a space nor who has developed a personal familiarity with the space. It is my assumption that the second time visitor is illustrative of the most intuitive movement through, and between spaces. It is an attempt to reduce movement to an abstract notion by stripping various biases that might influence someone's path of travel. A first time visitor might find themselves distracted by novelties within a space, or with other cultural conventions, to accurately depict someone flowing naturally through a space. On the other hand, someone who is very familiar with a space or series of adjoining spaces may travel by learned routes and shortcuts.

The point of diagramming movement according to the most unbiased individual is to aid in developing spaces that consciously take advantage of our natural tendencies. Although, clever as we are (we can determine more efficient or effective ways of walking through our built environment than what may come intuitively), there are many reasons to have spaces that take into account natural and intuitive movement.

4

The entry condition is the same as 3; however, the path of travel flows to the left. An individual passing through this space is required to make a sharp turn to the left to exit.

The main feature that separates this diagram from the previous ones is the fact that the path of travel is forced; that is, it does not exactly follow an individual's natural flow.

Previous assumptions are made regarding the density of pedestrians and the size of the space (although not previously indicated, the spaces are around 15'x15'). The spaces beyond the entrance and exit are also the same as indicated in 3: open and undefined.

If the space were much larger, with the same level of pedestrian traffic, than the flow would not be unnatural as an individual could make a very comfortable turn to the left. Alternately, if the spaces beyond the entry and exit were not open and undefined, but instead were closed and small, than this path of travel would be natural, as the pedestrians would be moving at a slow pace and can thus adjust to changes in trajectory much quicker.

In this diagram, the interruption in natural flow is represented by the circular (turbulence) lines.

3

In this scenario, the left extents of the individuals' path of travel will tend slightly to the left due to the open space. It will also tend to the left on the right side of the path of travel. The reasoning for this tendency is a little more complicated than the prior posts, but is essentially a result of three things: the open space to the left, the wall to the right, and the open space beyond the exit and entrance of this room.

Characteristics of the spaces beyond the entry and exit will have an impact, in certain cases, on the travel paths in a given space. Since the assumption is (similar to 1 and 2) that the spaces beyond the entry and exit are open and undefined, the path of travel will tend to be meandering and thus more easily influenced by solid obstacles and voids. That is, as shown, they will be pulled towards voids and pushed from solids.

2

Similar arrangement to 1, except that the entry and exit are shifted relative to each other. The left side of the entry is in the mid position of the wall, while the right side of the exit is in the mid position. Note that the average path of travel will tend to skew towards the right, from the entry point to about the center of the room.

The tendency for the skewing on the right hand side is a result of the individuals simple momentum as a result of walking. Although in later diagrams I may explore how conditions leading to the entry may effect momentum, right now, for the current series of diagrams I am assuming the area leading to the entry of the room to be wide open and featureless.

1

Simple square room. Entry and exit at opposite sides symmetrical to the center of the room. The width of the opening is 8 feet. People traveling in a single direction. The room has no interesting characteristics such as windows, surface textures, color changes, furniture, and artwork.

The two curved lines (the central bulge) indicate the extents of likely path individuals will take when traveling through the room. An individual passing through this room will have no reason to travel outside of this boundary and will only travel through the space assuming there is some indication that something interesting exists beyond the exit.

Several assumptions are made regarding the pedestrians themselves, such as, individuals are neither walking fast or slow, and pedestrian traffic through the space is uncrowded.

The bulge exists simply because individuals are not being confined in the space, and as natural walking patterns dictate, people will not travel in a mechanically straight line if not confined to do so.

Although the width of bulge is somewhat arbitrary, I aligned the outermost, or center, of the curve's tangents with the exit jambs. My assumption is that the jambs will act as a visual cue orienting the traveler towards the exit.