PatternRecommended
Alcoves
Pattern 179Description
Within larger rooms, create alcoves for specific activities — reading, bay-window sitting, dining. Alcoves give a small group of people a sense of enclosure within a larger room.
Why this exists
A 14×20 living room is overscaled for two people; an alcove inside it lets the two people feel comfortable while preserving the room's larger gatherings.
Categories
AestheticAdjacency
Source
Christopher Alexanderno manifest entry
A Pattern Language (1977 (Oxford University Press))
Section: Pattern 179
Published 1977-01-01 · last verified 2026-05-09
Solver enforcement
Browsable only — the solver does not currently enforce this directive (no spec-level data to check against). This entry exists so the architect personas can cite it in conversation and the user can read what the rule says.
Related directives
- Common Areas at the Heart · Pattern 129
- Intimacy Gradient · Pattern 127
- Long Thin House · Pattern 109
- Indoor Sunlight · Pattern 128
- Staircase as a Stage · Pattern 133
Last reviewed 2026-05-09.