I often think about a building by imagining what happens when someone steps outside it.

A meeting may be over, but the conversation is not. Someone may want to eat lunch outdoors or wait for a friend before going home.

Where is there room for those parts of the day?

The answer might be a courtyard, a small garden, or a wider stretch of sidewalk shared by several entrances.

I enjoy architecture with a strong presence. But I am equally interested in what it is like to spend time around it.

The spaces between buildings can do more than separate structures or connect their doors. They can give the activities inside somewhere to continue, and people from different buildings somewhere to meet.

The Buildings Help Make the Space

Looking at the space between buildings makes me pay closer attention to the buildings themselves.

Standing in a courtyard, I am not only looking at separate facades. Their height, distance, and arrangement help shape the space I am occupying.

I notice whether the buildings seem to face the courtyard or turn away from it. I look at where doors open, what happens along the ground floor, and whether there is somewhere to settle without standing directly outside an entrance.

These are physical qualities I can experience before I know anything about the project.

A beautiful wall can be part of the pleasure of sitting there. An opening can connect the courtyard to activity on a nearby street. A tree can soften the enclosure while giving the space a presence of its own.

The outdoor space is not independent of the architecture.

It is partly made by what the surrounding buildings offer to it.

Different Doors, Shared Ground

What interests me most is the possibility of different daily lives meeting in the same space.

Imagine several buildings arranged around a courtyard. Someone comes outside for a short break. Another person crosses it on the way home. Two people stop to talk after leaving the same building.

They do not need to have arrived for a common purpose.

The courtyard gives their separate routines somewhere to overlap.

That is different from a space used only to get from one entrance to another. People may still pass through, but there is also the possibility of spending part of the day alongside others.

I do not expect a courtyard to create a community simply because people share it.

But I value the opportunity it offers. A conversation can continue outside. Someone can spend time near other people without joining an organized activity. A brief encounter can happen without either person having planned it.

These possibilities are modest, but they are worth designing for.

A Place Beside the Route

For that to happen, there needs to be somewhere to stop without getting in the way.

This is something I notice when moving through spaces between buildings. A route may be perfectly clear, yet leave very little room for anything except movement.

If I stop to talk, am I blocking a doorway? If I sit, will people need to squeeze past me? Is there somewhere nearby where I can remain without interrupting what the space needs to do?

I am not looking for a separate plaza at every entrance.

Sometimes a little more room beside the main route would offer a meaningful choice. A small recess could accommodate seating while keeping the path clear. A wider area between several doors could provide a place to meet rather than forcing everyone to wait directly in front of them.

The seat itself still matters. I care about its form, material, and comfort.

But I also want its position to make sense for the person using it.

I want to be able to stop without feeling that I have become an obstacle.

Something Worth Stepping Outside For

Practical space is important, but I also want there to be pleasure in being outside.

A courtyard should not need an event before it becomes appealing.

I might enjoy the shape of a flowering tree, the texture of a wall, or the view of planting from a sheltered seat. These qualities can make a short break feel worthwhile without asking me to go somewhere else.

This is where my interest in landscape becomes especially immediate.

I want nature to be part of an ordinary day, not only something I make a special trip to experience.

The garden between buildings may be small. But if it is close enough to use and attractive enough to draw me outside, it can offer something quite different from a larger park farther away.

Its value is partly in being there when a little time becomes available.

Sharing Space Does Not Mean Sharing Every Activity

I also think shared spaces need to accommodate different levels of participation.

I may enjoy being near a conversation without wanting to join it. Someone else may need a quieter place to sit, while another person is simply trying to get home.

I would not want every seat facing the same gathering area or every route passing close to someone’s window.

A little separation can help different uses coexist. Planting, the placement of seating, and the distance between a path and a building can give people choices about how close they want to be.

Nor do I assume that every space between buildings should be open to everyone.

A residents’ courtyard and a public square have different roles. I want the intended welcome to be clear, while respecting the privacy of the people nearby.

Sharing works better, in my view, when it does not require everyone to experience the space in the same way.

Giving the Space a Role of Its Own

When I consider a group of buildings, I want to give the outdoor spaces a role beyond providing separation.

What part of the day could happen here?

The answer does not always need to involve gathering. A quiet planted court may offer a welcome outlook from the rooms around it. Another space may work best as a direct passage, with somewhere to pause along one side.

What matters to me is that its role has been considered.

This changes how I think about the relationship between a building and its surroundings. I am not only asking whether the outdoor space makes the architecture look better. I am asking what it offers the people whose lives take place around it.

A building can accommodate the main purpose of a visit or a working day.

The space outside can accommodate what happens around that purpose.

Sometimes the next thing someone needs is not another building.

It is somewhere outside the one they have just left.